Mortgage lender Mat Ishbia is finalizing a purchase of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury from embattled owner Robert Sarver for a record price of $4 billion, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday.
The deal is expected to be announced as soon as Tuesday afternoon.
Ishbia, 42, will need a vote of approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors, however ESPN reported that is expected to be a formality.
Ishbia’s net worth was recently listed at $5.1 billion by Forbes. He is the chairman, president and chief executive officer of Michigan-based United Wholesale Mortgage, which was founded by his father, Jeff, in 1986.
Mat Ishbia previously was a walk-on at Michigan State and member of the Spartans’ NCAA championship team in 2000.
The Suns’ reported sale eclipses the previous NBA record amount of $2.35 billion by Joe Tsai to purchase the Brooklyn Nets in 2019.
The sale will end Sarver’s tenure with the Suns, which dates back to 2004.
Sarver announced on Sept. 21 that he would be selling both the Suns and Mercury franchises following the release of a damning report of his workplace conduct that corroborated claims of harassment and inappropriate behavior.
The NBA suspended Sarver for one year and fined him $10 million after an independent investigation into allegations he created a toxic work environment in Phoenix. That report found that Sarver used the “N-word” at least five times, sexually harassed female employees, and yelled and cursed at workers during nearly two decades of ownership.
–Field Level Media
