The purchase of a 27% stake in the Los Angeles Chargers American football franchise by US billionaire businessman Tom Gores has been approved by the other team owners from the National Football League (NFL).
Gores – owner of the Detroit Pistons, from basketball’s NBA – has bought a stake of 24% in the California team previously held by Dea Spanos Berberian, as well as holdings of 1% previously belonging to siblings Dean Spanos (the controlling owner), Alexis Spanos Ruhl, and Michael Spanos.
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However, Gores will neither have a say in the operation of the team nor retain the opportunity to take a controlling interest in the franchise later.
Gores, 60, has a net worth – according to Bloomberg – of $11.8 billion. He is the chair of private equity investment Platinum Equity, though his sports investments are a solo endeavour.
The purchase was approved by the NFL’s team owners during a meeting earlier this week in Atlanta, Georgia.
He bought a 51% stake in the Pistons in 2011 for a fee of $325 million – alongside Platinum Equity which bought 49% – before buying out Platinum Equity’s stake in 2015 to take full control of the team.
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By GlobalDataThe first reports around a deal being agreed emerged in late September, with Forbes having valued the franchise at $5.1 billion earlier this year.
The Spanos family, which has controlled the franchise since 1984, still controls 69% of the shares, but this sale brings to an end a bitter inter-sibling dispute.
Spanos Berberian filed a lawsuit against Dean in 2021, followed by another the year after, and has tried to force a sale.
As part of this deal with Gores, she has agreed to resolve the disputes with the rest of her family and the Chargers.
The Chargers stated: “This transaction ensures that the franchise will remain permanently under the control of Dean Spanos and his siblings Alexis and Michael. The entire Los Angeles Chargers family welcomes Tom Gores to our team.”
During the 2023-24 NFL season, the Chargers failed to make the NFL’s post-season playoffs, winning only five games and losing 12.
