Lore and Rodriguez issued a joint statement expressing disappointment in Taylor and contending that they've upheld their end of the deal that was to also include the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx.slammed to a halt when Glen Taylor declared on Thursday he won't take the final step of his drawn-out $1.5 billion deal to hand Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez the majority stake because they didn't meet all of the deadlines in the sale conditions.
Taylor, who turns 83 on April 20, bought the Timberwolves for $88 million in 1994 to keep them in his native Minnesota after a deal the previous owners struck to move the team to New Orleans fell through. He's a self-made billionaire who grew up on a farm and became a printing magnate after a job at a wedding invitations shop he got to put himself through college took off.
Lore previously served as Walmart’s e-commerce chief and left that post shortly before the purchase agreement with Taylor. He is currently the CEO of Wonder, a food delivery startup in New York. The partners exercised their option on Dec. 28 to buy another 40% and become controlling owners, and the agreement gave them a 90-day window to close the sale that expired on Wednesday. Taylor said he decided to void the contract for this third and final portion of the sale because Lore and Rodriguez missed certain deadlines related to the closing process.
Lore and Rodriguez regularly sit courtside at games, not far from Taylor’s usual seat next to his wife and the Wolves bench. What becomes of their relationship now remains to be seen. Taylor said he's greeted Lore and Rodriguez in passing at recent games but spoken little with them about the sale of the club.