Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx co-owner Marc Lore is selling his controlling stake

Marc Lore, one of the main owners of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx, has agreed to sell his controlling stake in both teams to fellow co-owner Marc Stad. The deal values the two franchises at $4.5 billion. This agreement came barely a year after Lore officially finished buying the teams. A person who knew about the deal told The Associated Press about it on Friday, but asked to remain anonymous because the details had not been made public yet.

Lore is a business entrepreneur from New York who made his name in online shopping. He and his partner Alex Rodriguez, a famous former Major League Baseball star, bought both the NBA's Timberwolves and the WNBA's Lynx from Minnesota businessman Glen Taylor. That process was long and complicated, taking more than four years before the $1.5 billion sale received league approval in June 2025.

So why is Lore selling so soon? According to a second person familiar with the situation, Lore wants to focus on his food delivery startup company called Wonder. He is also working on taking Wonder public, which means he plans to sell shares of the company to regular investors on the stock market. Selling his stake in the teams gives him more time and money to focus on that goal.

Even after the sale, Lore will still own a smaller share of the teams. He and Marc Stad will essentially swap roles — Stad will now be the controlling owner, while Lore steps back to a limited partner role. Stad is the founder of Dragoneer Investment Group, a California company that focuses on investing in technology businesses. Alex Rodriguez will stay on as a co-owner and will continue to be the most visible public face of both franchises.

All three men — Lore, Rodriguez, and Stad — released a joint statement on Friday. They expressed strong support for the teams' current leadership, including CEO Matt Caldwell, Timberwolves basketball boss Tim Connelly, head coach Chris Finch, and Lynx president and head coach Cheryl Reeve. They said their goal has always been to build both teams into the best basketball organizations possible, and that winning championships remains their top priority.

Both teams currently play at Target Center in downtown Minneapolis, an arena that opened in 1990. The owners have previously said they want to keep the teams in downtown Minneapolis and hope to eventually build a new arena there. The Lynx joined the WNBA in 1999 as an expansion team and have since won four championships. This season, they are looking strong thanks to star player Napheesa Collier and exciting rookie Olivia Miles.

The Timberwolves have had a harder road to success, never winning an NBA championship or reaching the NBA Finals. Their best stretch for a long time was an eight-year run of making the playoffs behind star Kevin Garnett. But things have been looking up recently, as the team has become one of the NBA's best since drafting Anthony Edwards in 2020 and bringing in new leadership. They reached the Western Conference Finals in both 2024 and 2025, and this summer they traded for star point guard LaMelo Ball in one of the offseason's biggest deals.