Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon strikes tentative deal to buy the Portland Trail Blazers

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A group led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Don Dundon has reached a tentative agreement with Paul Allen’s estate to buy the Trail Blazers and keep the team in Portland.

Dundon confirmed the agreement in a text exchange with The Associated Press on Wednesday. His group includes Portland-based Sheel Tyle, the co-founder of investment firm Collective Global, and Marc Zahr, co-president of Blue Owl Capital.

The NBA Board of Governors has to ratify any final purchase agreement. ESPN reported Wednesday that the deal was for $4 billion. Dundon did not reveal the terms of the sale to the AP.

CNBC earlier this year valued the Trail Blazers at $3.65 billion. In March, the Boston Celtics sold for $6.1 billion.

Dundon, 53, bought a stake in the Hurricanes in 2017 and became the majority owner in 2018. He is chairman and managing partner of the Dallas-based firm Dundon Capital Partners.

Allen’s estate announced in May that it had begun the process of selling the Trail Blazers. The billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, who died in 2018 at age 65 from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, originally bought the Blazers in 1988 for $70 million.

Allen also owned the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and was a co-owner of Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders.

Since his death, Allen’s sister, Jody Allen, has served as chair of both the Blazers and Seahawks and is a trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust. Paul Allen stipulated in his will the eventual sale of his teams, with the proceeds given to philanthropic endeavors.

Representatives for the estate did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment on the agreement.

The estate has not announced plans for the sale of the Seahawks or the 25% stake in the Sounders.

Jody Allen reportedly rebuffed an offer from Nike co-founder Phil Knight to buy the Trail Blazers for more than $2 billion in 2022. At that time, there were no ongoing discussions about the sale of the teams, she said in a rare statement.

The Trail Blazers joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1970 and won their lone NBA championship in 1977.

Last season, the Blazers finished 36-46 and missed out on the playoffs for the fourth straight year.

A spokesperson for the Carolina Hurricanes said Dundon was “excited about the opportunity” to buy the Trail Blazers, and added that the move will not affect the NHL team.

The Hurricanes, based in Raleigh, have made the playoffs in each of the last seven seasons.

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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.

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