Tom Dundon is on the verge of selling a minority stake in the Carolina Hurricanes in a deal that would help facilitate his purchase of the Portland Trail Blazers, according to multiple published reports.
The sale, which comes at a valuation of $2 billion, was first reported by CNBC.
Dundon and a group of investors reached a formal sales agreement in September to buy the Blazers from the Paul Allen Estate in a deal worth $4.25 billion, which will be paid in stages over multiple years. But the sale won’t become official until it’s approved by the NBA’s board of governors, a move expected to happen before the end of the 2025-26 season.
Dundon purchased a majority stake in the Hurricanes in 2018 for $425 million and became sole owner of the NHL franchise in 2021.
The Hurricanes ended a nine-year postseason drought in his first year as owner and have become a perennial contender since, reaching the playoffs seven consecutive seasons, which includes three trips to the Eastern Conference finals. Carolina (16-8-2) currently sits in second place in the Eastern Conference standings and is one of the odds-on favorites to win the Stanley Cup this season.
Dundon intends to sell a “significant (limited partnership) stake” of the team, according to CNBC.
When his deal to purchase the Blazers is complete, Dundon would be the majority owner among a group that includes Panda Express founders Andrew and Peggy Cherng, Blue Owl Capital co-president Marc Zahr and Collective Global CEO Sheel Tyle, who lives in the Portland area.
Dundon, who lives in Texas, is the chairman and managing partner of Dallas-based investment firm Dundon Capital Partners and the co-founder and chairman of Southpaw Capital Partners. But his business portfolio is vast and includes multiple sports ventures — Dundon is an investor in Topgolf Callaway Brands and one of the owners of Major League Pickleball, in addition to the Hurricanes.
He also was an investor in the now-defunct Alliance of American Football, which filed for bankruptcy roughly two months after Dundon became the controlling owner.
The news of Dundon’s move to sell a stake of the Hurricanes comes less than a week after he largely prevailed in a three-year legal battle with other investors of the defunct football league.