Alex Rodriguez, Marc Lore officially join ownership group of Minnesota Timberwolves
The Wolves welcome retired Major League Baseball star Alex Rodriguez and entrepreneur Marc Lore to the organization on Wednesday.
The first increment of the $1.5 billion sale of the Minnesota Timberwolves to e-commerce mogul Marc Lore and retired baseball star Alex Rodriguez has been formally approved by the NBA.
The Timberwolves issued a statement Wednesday confirming the transaction and welcoming Lore and Rodriguez to the organization. The deal, which also includes the WNBA franchise Minnesota Lynx, was first reached between current owner Glen Taylor and Lore and Rodriguez this spring and was structured to begin with an initial transfer of a 20% stake in the club this year.
Lore and Rodriguez will then have the right to purchase an additional 20% share in 2022 and an additional 40% share in 2023, when they would become controlling owners of the basketball teams.
“Together with Marc and Alex, we take another step forward in building a world-class organization both on and off the court,” Taylor said in the statement.
Lore expressed his excitement Wednesday in a Twitter post.
“As a middle schooler, I dreamt about owning a sports team — and today I’m so humbled to be a part of the NBA and WNBA family,” Lore said.
The 80-year-old Taylor purchased the Timberwolves in 1994 for $88 million to keep them from moving to New Orleans. He told reporters when the negotiations with Lore and Rodriguez began that the franchise remaining in Minnesota was a condition of the sale.
Marc Lore, Alex Rodriguez ‘honored’ to officially join Timberwolves, Lynx ownership group
Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez have not said much publicly since they entered into an agreement with Glen Taylor to become controlling owners of the Timberwolves and Lynx.
But after getting NBA approval this week for their initial 20% buy-in for the franchise, Lore and Rodriguez released statements on social media.
“We are honored to officially join Glen Taylor and the ownership group of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx,” Lore and Rodriguez said in a joint statement. “In this next chapter, we look forward to working with the organization, getting to know the players and devoted fans, and actively engaging in the community.
“Thank you to Glen and Becky Taylor for their partnership throughout this process, and thank you to Commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA for welcoming us into the league.”
Lore and Rodriguez have options to buy subsequent 20% stakes in the franchises in 2022 and 2023, and in doing so would become controlling owners by 2023.
This week cemented them as official members of the organizations. Lore and Rodriguez will have influence over decisions made in the future, but just how much say they will have while Taylor is still the controlling owner is unclear.
“Today is a historic day for my family and me,” Rodriguez wrote on Twitter. “After growing up witnessing my mother work two jobs, I never dreamed this would be possible.”
The approval also comes after Taylor, who also owns the Star Tribune, fended off a legal challenge from minority owner Meyer Orbach, who attempted to halt the sale on grounds Taylor violated their agreement over whether Orbach would get paid now or later for his approximately 16% of the franchise.
Lore and Rodriguez now become the largest minority owners in the franchise.
“We are pleased to officially welcome Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx family,” Taylor said in a statement. “Together with Marc and Alex, we take another step forward in building a world-class organization both on and off the court.”
Marc Lore
|
Marc Lore
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Marc Eric Lore
May 16, 1971 |
| Education | Bucknell University (Bachelor of Arts) Columbia University (Dropped out) Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (Dropped out) |
| Occupation | Serial entrepreneur |
| Known for | Walmart eCommerce CEO, GARP, Diapers.com and Jet.com |
| Spouse(s) | Carolyn Lore (divorced) |
| Children | 2 daughters – Sierra and Sophia |
| Parent(s) | Peter Lore, Chiara Lore |
| Website | www |
Marc Eric Lore (pronounced LorEE, born May 16, 1971) is an American entrepreneur, businessman, and investor. From 2016 to 2021, he was the President and CEO of Walmart U.S. eCommerce. He was appointed in September 2016 to lead Walmart’s e-commerce division when his company Jet.com, an e-commerce website launched in 2014, was acquired by Walmart, Inc. Walmart purchased Jet for $3.3 billion. Prior to Jet, Lore was the CEO and co-founder of Quidsi, the parent company of a family of websites including Diapers.com. Quidsi was sold in 2011 to Amazon for $545 million. Lore was named regional Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2011, one of the “smartest people in technology” by Fortune, and dubbed the LeBron James of e-commerce by Matt Higgins (businessman).
After stepping down from Walmart, Recode reported that Lore’s latest project will be “a multi-decade project to build ‘a city of the future’ supported by ‘a reformed version of capitalism
Investor
Lore is the lead investor in Archer Aviation, an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) company focused on advancing the benefits of sustainable air mobility. In February 2021, Archer announced Lore would be investing an additional $10 million as the company announced their $1 billion purchase order from United Airlines and a SPAC.
On May 12, 2021 Alex Rodriguez and Lore announced a new venture capital firm called Vision Capital People or VCP. The new company, which will be called Vision/Capital/People, or VCP, launches with $50 million of the pair’s own money and could eventually raise $300 million to $500 million. Rodriguez and Lore plan to take early-stage stakes of 40% to 80% in their portfolio companies, much larger than the typical venture approach, a model that Lore said he found “frustrating” when he sought capital for his previous startups. Their first investment is NOW//with, a social commerce company.
On April 10, 2021, Lore and Alex Rodriguez signed a letter of intent to purchase the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx from Glen Taylor.
In 1996 Lore qualified for the U.S. National Bobsled Team but chose to go stay with his banking job instead of train, therefore losing his seat on the national team for the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Alex Rodriguez
| Alex Rodriguez | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Rodriguez in 2015
|
|||
| Shortstop / Third baseman | |||
| Born: July 27, 1975 Manhattan, New York City |
|||
|
|||
| MLB debut | |||
| July 8, 1994, for the Seattle Mariners | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| August 12, 2016, for the New York Yankees | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .295 | ||
| Hits | 3,115 | ||
| Home runs | 696 | ||
| Runs batted in | 2,086 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
|
|||
Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed “A-Rod,” is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners (1994–2000), Texas Rangers (2001–2003), and New York Yankees (2004–2016). Rodriguez is the chairman and CEO of A-Rod Corp as well as the chairman of Presidente beer. He is an owner of the National Basketball Association‘s (NBA) Minnesota Timberwolves.
Rodriguez began his professional baseball career as one of the sport’s most highly touted prospects, and is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Rodriguez amassed a .295 batting average, over 600 home runs (696), over 2,000 runs batted in (RBI), over 2,000 runs scored, over 3,000 hits, and over 300 stolen bases, the only player in MLB history to achieve all of those feats. He was also a 14-time All-Star, winning three American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, 10 Silver Slugger Awards, and two Gold Glove Awards. Rodríguez is also the career record holder for grand slams with 25. He signed two of the most lucrative sports contracts in baseball.
The Mariners selected Rodriguez first overall in the 1993 MLB draft, and he debuted in the major leagues the following year at the age of 18. In 1996, he became the Mariners’ starting shortstop, won the major league batting title, and finished second in voting for the AL MVP Award. His combination of power, speed, and defense made him a cornerstone of the franchise, but he left the team via free agency after the 2000 season to join the Rangers. The 10-year, $252 million contract he signed was the richest in baseball history at the time. He played at a high level in his three years with Texas, highlighted by his first AL MVP Award win in 2003, but the team failed to make the playoffs during his tenure. Prior to the 2004 season, Rodriguez was traded to the Yankees, for whom he converted to a third baseman to accommodate their shortstop Derek Jeter. During Rodriguez’s career with the Yankees, he was named AL MVP in 2005 and 2007. After opting out of his contract following the 2007 season, Rodriguez signed a new 10-year, $275 million deal with the Yankees, extending his record for the sport’s most lucrative contract. He became the youngest player ever to hit 500 home runs, reaching the milestone in 2007. He was part of the Yankees’ victory in the 2009 World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies, which was Rodriguez’s only championship title. Toward the end of his career, he was hampered by hip and knee injuries, which caused him to become exclusively a designated hitter. He played his final game in professional baseball on August 12, 2016.
After retiring as a player, Rodriguez became a media personality, serving as a broadcaster for Fox Sports 1, a cast member of Shark Tank and a member of the ABC News network. In January 2018, ESPN announced that Rodriguez would be joining the broadcast team of Sunday Night Baseball. In January 2017, CNBC announced Rodriguez would be the host of the show Back In The Game, where he would help former athletes make a comeback in their personal lives; the first episode debuted on the network in March 2018.
