PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury have a buyer. Multiple reports state Robert Sarver sold his majority stake of the Suns and Mercury to Mat Ishbia for an NBA record-breaking price of $4 billion.
BREAKING: Billionaire mortgage lender Mat Ishbia is finalizing a purchase of the Phoenix Suns, sources tell ESPN. The deal, expected to be completed in the near future, would end the tumultuous tenure of owner Robert Sarver.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 20, 2022
If the sale closes at $4 billion, it would be the largest purchase in NBA history.
Ishbia is chairman and CEO of Michigan-based mortgage lender United Wholesale Mortgage, now UWM Holdings, Forbes says.
He was also "on the Michigan State team that won the NCAA men's basketball championship in 2000 and worked alongside coach Tom Izzo for a year before joining UWM," according to Forbes.
In September, Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver said he was starting the process of trying to sell both the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury following a lengthy investigation into alleged misconduct.
The Suns were estimated to be worth $1.8 billion.
Robert Sarver was at the center of a scandal after an independent investigation found there were inappropriate workplace conduct and culture issues under his leadership.
Mounting pressure led Sarver to step down and announce he would sell his stake.
”Current Phoenix Suns executives who employees felt were complicit in the workplace culture, under Robert Sarver and in some cases committed alleged misconduct during his reign that those individuals will also be out,” said ESPN Senior writer, Baxter Holmes.
In a release shared by The Athletic, Sarver wrote Ishbia is the “right leader to build on franchise legacies of winning.”
One of the few fans ABC15 spoke with Tuesday, who knew the name Ishbia said, “(Ishbia) seems like a genuinely good guy, which is different than Sarver which is awesome. He’s a multi-billionaire which means he might be able to go over the salary cap which means he might pay the luxury tax so we can get big free agents like a lot of the competitors in the western division."
