Woj Bomb: Celtics Ownership looking to Sell

[ChillyWilly]

Jeff Bezos is selling $5B worth of Amazon shares.

[Kernewek]

More speculation regarding the sale from Shank:

Irving Grousbeck ? still teaching at Stanford Business School ? has been the money behind the group since the beginning and there?s every indication that the billionaire (Forbes lists ?Irving Grousbeck and family?s? worth at $1.8 billion) rarely seen at Celtics games is motivating this sale in an attempt to get his affairs in order.

H. Irving Grousbeck made his fortune as cofounder of Continental Cablevision and is no doubt interested in ongoing negotiations for the NBA?s media rights. A nine-year deal is set to expire at the end of next season and the new deal (reportedly close to $76 billion) will have considerable impact on franchise values.

I emailed the elder Grousbeck late Wednesday, requesting comment on my assertions, and he responded Thursday with a polite no comment.

When I texted Wyc with, ?You OK if I say your personal stake in the team is less than 2 percent??, he answered, ?We hold as a family ? all unified . . . We are a family and I also have a Celtics family is my comment. Thanks.?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/07/05/sports/dan-shaughnessy-celtics-sale-grousbeck/

[Roy H.]

More speculation regarding the sale from Shank:

Irving Grousbeck ? still teaching at Stanford Business School ? has been the money behind the group since the beginning and there?s every indication that the billionaire (Forbes lists ?Irving Grousbeck and family?s? worth at $1.8 billion) rarely seen at Celtics games is motivating this sale in an attempt to get his affairs in order.

H. Irving Grousbeck made his fortune as cofounder of Continental Cablevision and is no doubt interested in ongoing negotiations for the NBA?s media rights. A nine-year deal is set to expire at the end of next season and the new deal (reportedly close to $76 billion) will have considerable impact on franchise values.

I emailed the elder Grousbeck late Wednesday, requesting comment on my assertions, and he responded Thursday with a polite no comment.

When I texted Wyc with, ?You OK if I say your personal stake in the team is less than 2 percent??, he answered, ?We hold as a family ? all unified . . . We are a family and I also have a Celtics family is my comment. Thanks.?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/07/05/sports/dan-shaughnessy-celtics-sale-grousbeck/

That explains the estate planning aspect.  Less than 2% for Wyc?!

[hpantazo]

More speculation regarding the sale from Shank:

Irving Grousbeck ? still teaching at Stanford Business School ? has been the money behind the group since the beginning and there?s every indication that the billionaire (Forbes lists ?Irving Grousbeck and family?s? worth at $1.8 billion) rarely seen at Celtics games is motivating this sale in an attempt to get his affairs in order.

H. Irving Grousbeck made his fortune as cofounder of Continental Cablevision and is no doubt interested in ongoing negotiations for the NBA?s media rights. A nine-year deal is set to expire at the end of next season and the new deal (reportedly close to $76 billion) will have considerable impact on franchise values.

I emailed the elder Grousbeck late Wednesday, requesting comment on my assertions, and he responded Thursday with a polite no comment.

When I texted Wyc with, ?You OK if I say your personal stake in the team is less than 2 percent??, he answered, ?We hold as a family ? all unified . . . We are a family and I also have a Celtics family is my comment. Thanks.?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/07/05/sports/dan-shaughnessy-celtics-sale-grousbeck/

That explains the estate planning aspect.  Less than 2% for Wyc?!

So Wyc was just a figurehead?

[bdm860]

More speculation regarding the sale from Shank:

Irving Grousbeck ? still teaching at Stanford Business School ? has been the money behind the group since the beginning and there?s every indication that the billionaire (Forbes lists ?Irving Grousbeck and family?s? worth at $1.8 billion) rarely seen at Celtics games is motivating this sale in an attempt to get his affairs in order.

H. Irving Grousbeck made his fortune as cofounder of Continental Cablevision and is no doubt interested in ongoing negotiations for the NBA?s media rights. A nine-year deal is set to expire at the end of next season and the new deal (reportedly close to $76 billion) will have considerable impact on franchise values.

I emailed the elder Grousbeck late Wednesday, requesting comment on my assertions, and he responded Thursday with a polite no comment.

When I texted Wyc with, ?You OK if I say your personal stake in the team is less than 2 percent??, he answered, ?We hold as a family ? all unified . . . We are a family and I also have a Celtics family is my comment. Thanks.?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/07/05/sports/dan-shaughnessy-celtics-sale-grousbeck/

That explains the estate planning aspect.  Less than 2% for Wyc?!

Ha, I can remember us questioning the validity of Wyc's reported net worth, because it seemed to consistently be reported as $400m for the last 20 years.  If the C's are worth $5b, a <2% stake is worth at most only $100m.  Maybe those online net worth estimates were on point after all.

Personally, I'm not surprised, I wrote this back in February:

I've commented before about how I view Wyc as a politician, and this is part of it.  I think his stake is on the smaller side (<10%), but he positioned himself to become the face of the ownership group, and so a lot of people associate him as thee owner of the Celtics, as opposed to a part owner of the Celtics. I wouldn't be surprised if he's one of the least successful members of the ownership group.  That's not to hate on Wyc (being the least successful in a multi-billion dollar ownership group is still pretty amazing), but I do think this guy is a big time politician, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's a lot less successful than we all think.

[Larry for 3]

More speculation regarding the sale from Shank:

Irving Grousbeck ? still teaching at Stanford Business School ? has been the money behind the group since the beginning and there?s every indication that the billionaire (Forbes lists ?Irving Grousbeck and family?s? worth at $1.8 billion) rarely seen at Celtics games is motivating this sale in an attempt to get his affairs in order.

H. Irving Grousbeck made his fortune as cofounder of Continental Cablevision and is no doubt interested in ongoing negotiations for the NBA?s media rights. A nine-year deal is set to expire at the end of next season and the new deal (reportedly close to $76 billion) will have considerable impact on franchise values.

I emailed the elder Grousbeck late Wednesday, requesting comment on my assertions, and he responded Thursday with a polite no comment.

When I texted Wyc with, ?You OK if I say your personal stake in the team is less than 2 percent??, he answered, ?We hold as a family ? all unified . . . We are a family and I also have a Celtics family is my comment. Thanks.?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/07/05/sports/dan-shaughnessy-celtics-sale-grousbeck/

That explains the estate planning aspect.  Less than 2% for Wyc?!

So Wyc was just a figurehead?

And a very very good one at that. Irv is really the man for letting him run it the way he did. We should all be thanking Irv.

[Kernewek]

More speculation regarding the sale from Shank:

Irving Grousbeck ? still teaching at Stanford Business School ? has been the money behind the group since the beginning and there?s every indication that the billionaire (Forbes lists ?Irving Grousbeck and family?s? worth at $1.8 billion) rarely seen at Celtics games is motivating this sale in an attempt to get his affairs in order.

H. Irving Grousbeck made his fortune as cofounder of Continental Cablevision and is no doubt interested in ongoing negotiations for the NBA?s media rights. A nine-year deal is set to expire at the end of next season and the new deal (reportedly close to $76 billion) will have considerable impact on franchise values.

I emailed the elder Grousbeck late Wednesday, requesting comment on my assertions, and he responded Thursday with a polite no comment.

When I texted Wyc with, ?You OK if I say your personal stake in the team is less than 2 percent??, he answered, ?We hold as a family ? all unified . . . We are a family and I also have a Celtics family is my comment. Thanks.?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/07/05/sports/dan-shaughnessy-celtics-sale-grousbeck/

That explains the estate planning aspect.  Less than 2% for Wyc?!

There's also a bit where Pags is alleged to be 'the guy' behind hiring Ainge.

All of this is unconfirmed, of course, but the idea that the guy who actively positions himself as the face of Celtics ownership is a guy who 1) routinely takes credit for other people's successes and 2) is backed by his dad's money tracks with the general outline of what a lot of people with a background in venture capital are like, in my experience.

[gift]

More speculation regarding the sale from Shank:

Irving Grousbeck ? still teaching at Stanford Business School ? has been the money behind the group since the beginning and there?s every indication that the billionaire (Forbes lists ?Irving Grousbeck and family?s? worth at $1.8 billion) rarely seen at Celtics games is motivating this sale in an attempt to get his affairs in order.

H. Irving Grousbeck made his fortune as cofounder of Continental Cablevision and is no doubt interested in ongoing negotiations for the NBA?s media rights. A nine-year deal is set to expire at the end of next season and the new deal (reportedly close to $76 billion) will have considerable impact on franchise values.

I emailed the elder Grousbeck late Wednesday, requesting comment on my assertions, and he responded Thursday with a polite no comment.

When I texted Wyc with, ?You OK if I say your personal stake in the team is less than 2 percent??, he answered, ?We hold as a family ? all unified . . . We are a family and I also have a Celtics family is my comment. Thanks.?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/07/05/sports/dan-shaughnessy-celtics-sale-grousbeck/

That explains the estate planning aspect.  Less than 2% for Wyc?!

There's also a bit where Pags is alleged to be 'the guy' behind hiring Ainge.

All of this is unconfirmed, of course, but the idea that the guy who actively positions himself as the face of Celtics ownership is a guy who 1) routinely takes credit for other people's successes and 2) is backed by his dad's money tracks with the general outline of what a lot of people with a background in venture capital are like, in my experience.

when Wyc bought the team i remember an interview where he said something along lines of 'moving some things around' or something like that in order to make the deal work while briefly pausing, smirking and looking (in my memory it was to his then wife) to the side. i always imagined he had tried to convince his wife to sell of some properties in order to put them across the finish line or something, but maybe he was internally recounting the family and other partner negotiations that it took to close the deal and be seated as managing partner. must've been a whirlwind.

[Kuberski33]

I believe I read somewhere that Wyc said he had to borrow money to finance his share of the club. Irving is, in essence, the Grousebeck family since Wyc and siblings stand to inherit his wealth. That Irving designated Wyc to be the managing partner (i.e. the 'owner' in the eyes of media and fans) makes sense.

To me, the easiest path forward is to reformulate the partnership and replace Irving's money. Wyc could very well still have equity in the team once completed. The problem would be if someone from the outside comes in and outbids everyone else by a huge margin.  It is not often that marqee sports franchises like the Celtics hit the market.

[Roy H.]

Boston Celtics sale happening "fairly soon"?

Mike Vorkunov: Wyc Grousbeck, on CNBC, said he and his family intend to sell a majority share of the Boston Celtics ?fairly soon.? Grousbeck said plan is to sell 51% at first, and he?d stay on as governor until other 49% sold in 2028. Grousbeck said it will be ?quite a bidding process.? 16 hours ago ? via Twitter MikeVorkunov

[Kernewek]

Boston Celtics sale happening "fairly soon"?

Mike Vorkunov: Wyc Grousbeck, on CNBC, said he and his family intend to sell a majority share of the Boston Celtics ?fairly soon.? Grousbeck said plan is to sell 51% at first, and he?d stay on as governor until other 49% sold in 2028. Grousbeck said it will be ?quite a bidding process.? 16 hours ago ? via Twitter MikeVorkunov

So what are we thinking - UAE or Saudi?

[SHAQATTACK]

Boston Celtics sale happening "fairly soon"?

Mike Vorkunov: Wyc Grousbeck, on CNBC, said he and his family intend to sell a majority share of the Boston Celtics ?fairly soon.? Grousbeck said plan is to sell 51% at first, and he?d stay on as governor until other 49% sold in 2028. Grousbeck said it will be ?quite a bidding process.? 16 hours ago ? via Twitter MikeVorkunov

So what are we thinking - UAE or Saudi?

I ll have to bust open BOTH piggy banks ?lol

[Celtics2021]

Boston Celtics sale happening "fairly soon"?

Mike Vorkunov: Wyc Grousbeck, on CNBC, said he and his family intend to sell a majority share of the Boston Celtics ?fairly soon.? Grousbeck said plan is to sell 51% at first, and he?d stay on as governor until other 49% sold in 2028. Grousbeck said it will be ?quite a bidding process.? 16 hours ago ? via Twitter MikeVorkunov

So what are we thinking - UAE or Saudi?

UAE, for sure.  The only question is whether Adam Silver raises the 5% cap they can own.

I think the more interesting question is will the NBPA invest in a stake.

[SparzWizard]

Hearing from social media that Wyc has to sell the team because of guys like CJ McCollum and Tobias Harris affecting cap is that true lol

[Celtics2021]

Hearing from social media that Wyc has to sell the team because of guys like CJ McCollum and Tobias Harris affecting cap is that true lol

No.