The pending sale of the Minnesota Timberwolves to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez appears to have some complications.
The team's second-largest stakeholder, Meyer Orbach, has filed a complaint alleging team owner Glen Taylor's $1.5-billion sale of the Timberwolves is in violation of the franchise's partnership agreement, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Orbach - who owns more than 17% of the Timberwolves and WNBA's Minnesota Lynx - said Taylor hasn't honored minority investors' "tag-along rights," which permit those to sell their stake in the organization before the team owner does.
He argues that the tag-along provision should've been exercised immediately upon the finalization of the Timberwolves' sale to Lore and Rodriguez. Taylor counters that Orbit (Orbach's company) doesn't have tag-along rights since the "control sale" of the franchise will be years in the future.
As part of Orbach's claim, it was revealed that Taylor's sale of the franchise to Lore and Rodriguez doesn't require the Timberwolves to remain in Minnesota despite the owner previously saying he wants the team to stay in the state. The organization has the option of exercising a $50-million buyout to get out of its current lease agreement with Target Center that runs through 2035, Wojnarowski notes.
The NBA's board of governors still has to vote on final approval of the Timberwolves/Lynx sale to Lore and Rodriguez.
