Jimmy and Dee Haslam buys Bucks share for $3.5 billion / News - Basketnews.com

Cleveland Brown owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam acquired Milwaukee Bucks share for $3.5 billion after reaching an agreement with Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry.

Credit: AP-Scanpix Credit AP-Scanpix

Cleveland Brown owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam acquired Milwaukee Bucks share for $3.5 billion, Tim Bontemps from ESPN reports.

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Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry has already agreed to sell his portion of shares.

According to Sportico, Lasry owned about 25% of the Bucks. He was also a primary Bucks governor, but his stint was coming to an end.

Haslam will join the Bucks' ownership group with current co-owner Wes Edens following a months-long process that included several meetings among the parties and Lasry deciding whether he wanted to sell his ownership in the Bucks, according to Shams Charania from The Athletic.

Edens and Lasry bought the Bucks from Herb Kohl in 2014 for $550 million.

The $3.5 billion valuation is the second-highest for an NBA team ever, trailing only the $4 billion Mat Ishbia purchased the Suns for earlier this month, and third-highest for an American sports franchise, behind the Denver Broncos sale last year.

Haslam, 68, is an American businessman who is the chairman of the board of the Pilot Flying J truck stop chain. His father, Jim, founded the Pilot Oil Corporation in 1958, and Pilot Company is now the fifth largest privately held company in the United States, according to a Forbes list from 2022. Per Forbes, the company's 2022 revenue was $41.9 billion, employing 30,000 people. Haslam is already the owner of two professional sports franchises, the Cleveland Browns in theNFLand the Columbus Crew in theMLS. Haslam has owned professional sports franchises since 2008 when he bought a minority interest in the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers. Haslam Sports Group has continued to scan the business space for more ownership opportunities recently, with a specific focus on the NBA. In 2012, Haslam sold his minority stake in the Steelers to purchase the Cleveland Browns from Randy Lerner and take control of the franchise for $1 billion. Since taking over the franchise midway through the 2012 season, the Browns have a 55-113-1 record, and they've made just one playoff appearance in 2020. Haslam took over the Columbus Crew at the start of 2019, and the team won the MLS Cup in 2020.

Currently, the Bucks have a 43-17 record and stand in second place in the Eastern Conference. In 2021, the Bucks became NBA champions.

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