Marc Lore, co-owner of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, has agreed to sell his controlling stake in the franchises to businessman and limited partner Marc Stad.

The deal values the NBA and WNBA franchises at $4.5 billion, ESPN reported.

Alex Rodriguez, a 14-time MLB All-Star and FOX MLB studio analyst, said Friday he plans to increase his equity stake in both franchises. Lore, meanwhile, will retain a minority stake. The size of Lore's and Rodriguez's respective ownership stakes was not immediately clear.

Lore stepped away from his roles as co-owner and co-chairman to focus on a planned IPO for his food tech company, Wonder Group, over the next year. He believed transferring controlling ownership to Stad put the franchise in a position to keep experiencing success.

The sale opens a new chapter in a turbulent ownership saga. Lore and Rodriguez agreed in 2021 to buy the Timberwolves and Lynx from longtime owner Glen Taylor for $1.5 billion under an installment plan, but Taylor called off the deal in 2024, citing missed deadlines. The dispute went to arbitration, and a panel ruled in 2025 that the purchase could proceed on its original terms, allowing Lore and Rodriguez to complete the buyout and take control.

Stad, the founder and managing partner of Dragoneer Investment Group, a San Francisco-based investment firm he launched in 2012 that focuses on technology companies, was a major minority investor in the Timberwolves and Lynx under Lore and Rodriguez.

Sources told ESPN the ownership transition followed months of discussions and will allow Stad, Rodriguez and Lore to preserve the teams' current leadership structure, including Timberwolves President Tim Connelly, general manager Matt Lloyd and coach Chris Finch, as well as Lynx coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve. Reeve has guided the Lynx to all four of the franchise's WNBA championships, most recently in 2017, and a 2024 WNBA Finals appearance.

"We have been working together for years with a shared goal of building the Timberwolves and Lynx into the best organization in basketball on and off the floor," a joint statement from Stad, Rodriguez and Lore issued Friday said. "Our priority is and always will be championships. Our new agreement, pending league approval, is an evolution of the partnership we have built together and strengthening of our commitment to our team and our culture.

"While we're proud of the great work we've done, there's so much more to do, and we're just getting started."

Rodriguez reacted to the developments on social media, writing, "One of the great joys I've had in my career is spending the last few years helping build the Timberwolves and Lynx with my friend and partner Marc Lore.

"I'm very excited to announce that this incredible journey reaches a new level today. Marc and Elisa Stad, who have been our partners and friends since we bought the teams, will be increasing their investment and joining me as Co-Chairman.

"I will also be increasing my investment and spending even more time with the teams as Co-Chairman, Governor of the Lynx, and alternate Governor of the Timberwolves, pending league approval.

"While Marc Lore will be reducing his role and ownership to focus on his business, he remains an investor and a key part of our partnership. I could not be more energized about this evolution and what we're all going to do together for the Twin Cities."

The deal now heads to the NBA Board of Governors, which is expected to consider and approve the transaction at its Sept. 15-16 meeting. A transfer of controlling interest requires approval from at least three-fourths of the league's governors.

The $4.5 billion valuation ranks as the fourth-largest franchise sale in NBA history, trailing the Boston Celtics' $6.1 billion sale in 2025 and two Los Angeles Lakers transactions over the past year that valued the team at $10 billion and $12.5 billion, respectively. The figure roughly triples the $1.5 billion price in the 2021 agreement with Taylor, mirroring the league-wide climb in franchise values since the NBA signed new 11-year national media rights agreements with Disney/ESPN, NBC and Amazon, reported at about $76 billion, that began with the 2025-26 season.

Since Lore and Rodriguez bought into the franchise, the Timberwolves have reached the playoffs five consecutive seasons. Minnesota has advanced beyond the opening round in each of the past three trips, a stretch that included Western Conference finals appearances in 2024 and 2025.