Paul Allen's estate enters a formal agreement to sell Trail Blazers to
group led by Tom Dundon
[September 13, 2025]
By ANNE M. PETERSON
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Paul Allen's estate has formally
reached an agreement to sell the Portland Trail Blazers to a group of
investors led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon.
Dundon announced a tentative deal last month to buy the team and keep it
in Portland. The Allen estate announced Friday that it had “entered a
formal sales agreement” with the group. Terms were not disclosed. |
Tom Dundon, majority owner of the Carolina Hurricanes, talks to the
media about his $250 million investment in the Alliance of American
Football league before an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers
in Raleigh, N.C., Feb. 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Chris Seward, File) |
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Dundon's group includes Portland-based Sheel
Tyle, the co-founder of investment firm Collective Global; Marc
Zahr, co-president of Blue Owl Capital; and the Cherng Family
Trust, the family office and investment firm of the co-founders
of Panda Express.
The NBA Board of Governors has to ratify any final purchase
agreement. ESPN previously reported the deal was for $4 billion.
In March, the Boston Celtics sold for $6.1 billion.
The Blazers sale is expected to close by the end of this year.
Dundon, 53, bought a stake in the Hurricanes in 2017 and became
the majority owner in 2018. He is chairman and managing partner
of the Dallas-based firm Dundon Capital Partners.
Allen’s estate announced in May that it had begun the process of
selling the Trail Blazers. The billionaire co-founder of
Microsoft, who died in 2018 at age 65 from complications of
non-Hodgkin lymphoma, originally bought the Blazers in 1988 for
$70 million.
Allen also owned the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and was a co-owner
of Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders.
Since his death, Allen’s sister, Jody Allen, has served as chair
of both the Blazers and Seahawks and is a trustee of the Paul G.
Allen Trust. Paul Allen stipulated in his will the eventual sale
of his teams, with the proceeds to be given to philanthropic
endeavors.
The estate has not announced plans for the sale of the Seahawks
or the 25% stake in the Sounders.
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