The Grousbeck family, who own the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics, say they plan to sell the historic franchise due to estate and family planning considerations.
Wyc Grousbeck led a team of buyers to acquire the Celtics for $360 million in 2002 as part of a group that also included his father, H. Irving Grousbeck. Forbes now values the the National Basketball Association team at $4.7 billion. The prospective sale comes as the NBA is reportedly closing in on new TV rights deals worth $76 billion, which would further support the rise of team values.
“The controlling family of the ownership group, after considerable thought and internal discussion, has decided to sell the team for estate and family planning considerations,” Boston Basketball Partners LLC said in a statement. “The managing board of the ownership group expects to sell a majority interest in 2024 or early 2025, with the balance closing in 2028, and expects Wyc Grousbeck to remain as the governor of the team until the second closing in 2028.”
The Celtics ownership group, Boston Basketball Partners, includes four managers: Wyc and H. Irving Grousbeck, Steve Pagliuca and Robert Epstein. Their decision to sell comes after BSE Global, the parent company of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and WNBA’s New York Liberty, was reportedly valued at $6 billion upon receiving minority investment from the Koch family in June.