A group led by US tech investor Bill Chisholm and backed by global investment firm Sixth Street has reached an agreement to buy the Boston Celtics, the reigning champions of the National Basketball Association, reportedly for a record fee.
According to multiple reports, Chisholm, managing partner at private equity firm Symphony Technology Group, and the group will pay $6.1 billion to take over the basketball franchise, making it the largest sale for a US sports franchise in history.
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The record is currently held by the NFL’s Washington Commanders, which sold for $6.05 billion in 2023.
The investment group also includes Rob Hale, a current Celtics investor, and Bruce Beal Jr., president of real estate giant Related Companies.
In a statement, Chisholm said: “Growing up on the North Shore and attending college in New England, I have been a die-hard Celtics fan my entire life.
“I understand how important the Celtics are to the city of Boston – the role the team plays in the community is different than any other city in the country.”
The deal comes nine months after the Grousbeck family, which has owned the team since 2002, announced it would sell a majority interest in the Celtics “for estate and family planning considerations.”
At the time, the family said it expected to sell their interest “in 2024 or early 2025” with the deal to be completed by 2028. The family added that it expected Wyc Grousbeck to remain as the team’s governor until the second closing in 2028.
The deal will see 51% of the family’s ownership sold now and the remaining shares sold in 2028.
Grousbeck – also the Celtics chief executive – said: “Bill is a terrific person and a true Celtics fan, born and raised here in the Boston area.
“His love for the team and the city of Boston, along with his chemistry with the rest of the Celtics leadership, make him a natural choice to be the next governor and controlling owner of the team.”
Grousbeck and partner Steve Pagliuca led a group that bought the Celtics in 2002 for $360 million. Since then, the team has won two championships, including one last season, and reached the NBA Finals on two other occasions.
Overall, the franchise is one of the best-performing teams in US sports, having bagged a record 18 NBA titles, behind baseball’s New York Yankees (27) and ice hockey’s Montreal Canadiens (24).
They currently sit second in the NBA's 15-team Eastern Conference, as the 2024-25 NBA season gears up for the post-season playoffs.
The sale comes during a time when valuations for US sports teams are continuing to soar. In 2022, Mat Ishbia bought the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury for $4 billion, while the Minnesota Lynx were sold for just $1.5 billion a year earlier.
The news also comes weeks after Canada-based TD Bank renewed its sponsorship deal with the franchise through the 2044-45 season to remain the exclusive retail and online banking provider for both the franchise and its Maine Celtics NBA G League affiliate.
The bank is also the naming rights sponsor of the team’s TD Bank Garden home arena and extended that deal in 2023 to also run through the 2044-45 season.
It also comes two days after Sixth Street announced a new strategic partnership with American football’s San Francisco Giants as it continues to beef out its sports portfolio.
