Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon, looking to expand his sports holdings, plans to buy the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers and is willing to sell a minor ownership share in the Canes to do it, according to media reports.
Mike Ozanian, a sports reporter for CNBC, was the first to report Wednesday that Dundon was looking to sell a limited partnership in the Hurricanes, a franchise valued at $2 billion. Front Office Sports also reported on the potential transaction, based on sources.
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Dundon is a part of a group that agreed to take ownership of the Trail Blazers for about $4 billion. He reached an agreement in August to buy the NBA team from the estate of the late Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder who also owned the Seattle Seahawks. Dundon first bought a majority share of the Hurricanes in January 2018 from former owner Peter Karmanos Jr., who moved the franchise to North Carolina in 1997, and the Dallas billionaire took over full ownership in 2021.
The Hurricanes have reached the Stanley Cup playoffs each of the past seven seasons and have been playing before sellout crowds at Lenovo Center. Dundon, in reaching an agreement in a lease extension for the arena, was given the go-ahead to build an entertainment district on 80 acres adjacent to the arena.
CNBC’s recent valuations of NHL teams had the Hurricanes listed at $2 billion. That ranked 15th in the NHL, a league in which the average valuation of the 32 teams was $2.2 billion, according to CNBC.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have the highest NHL valuation, at $4.3 billion.
Dundon could not be reached Wednesday.