Ishbia Brothers Buying Phoenix Suns For An NBA Record $4 Billion

Ishbia Brothers Buying Phoenix Suns For An NBA Record $4 Billion

The deal includes Devin Booker and Chris Paul, for now. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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Billionaire brothers Mat and Justin Ishbia are buying the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury from Robert Sarver for $4 billion.

The brothers are acquiring about 60% of the NBA team, according to people familiar with the deal. Sarver owns about 35%. Among the minority investors in the team, only Dyal HomeCourt Partners has Tagalog rights.

In October, Forbes valued the Suns at $2.7 billion. The new price for the Suns breaks the record for an NBA team sale previously held by Joe Tsai, who paid $3.2 billion for the Brooklyn Nets in 2019. The only team in any sport to sell at a higher price was the Denver Broncos, purchased by the Walton family for $4.65 billion in August.

Mat Ishbia

Jacob Lewko/The Forbes Collection

Sarver put the Suns up for sale in September after he was hit with a one-year suspension and a $10 million fine for workplace misconduct, including allegations of racist speech and hostile behavior toward employees.

Sarver paid $401 million for the Suns in 2004.

News that Mat Ishbia would buy the Suns was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Forbes estimates Mat Ishbia’s net worth at $5.1 billion and Justin Ishbia’s at $2.2 billion.

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