Michael Jordan has agreed to sell his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall for an approximate valuation of $3 billion, according to league sources. The transaction ends Jordan’s 13-year career as majority owner.
Schnall, a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks, and Plotkin, a minority owner of the Hornets, will become franchise governors once the NBA completes its vetting and approval process. Jordan will continue to oversee basketball operations until Thursday’s NBA draft and the start of free agency on July 1.
Once the sale is complete, Jordan will retain a minority stake and presence in the franchise.
Jordan, a six-time NBA champion and five-time MVP, is widely regarded as the greatest player in the game’s history and has been the league’s only black majority owner. Jordan paid $275 million for a majority stake in the franchise in 2010.
Jordan sold a significant minority stake to Plotkin, founder and chief investment officer of Melvin Capital, and Daniel Sundheim, founder and chief investment officer of D1 Capital, in 2020, with Sundheim being part of the group buying the Hornets, the sources said.
Schnall, co-chairman of the private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in New York, was part of a group including majority owner Tony Ressler and Grant Hill that bought the Hawks in 2015 for $850 million.
After a 27-55 season plagued by injuries to most of the team’s best players, the Hornets have the No. 2 pick in the draft.
