Report: Marc Lore, Alex Rodriguez on verge of becoming Timberwolves, Lynx majority owners

The next payment is reportedly due by Dec. 31.

It appears that Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are ready to bring in the new year by putting to rest speculation that they might not be able to make a massive payment on their journey to becoming majority owners of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx before the Dec. 31 deadline. 

"Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are expected to exercise their option to acquire controlling ownership interest of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx from Glen Taylor as soon as today," reads a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. 

"The action formalizes intent to purchase additional 40 percent of franchise from Taylor and give Lore and Rodriguez 80 percent of teams and the majority ownership by early 2024.

In March, Lore and Rodriguez paid Taylor $290 million to Taylor to bring their ownership of the basketball franchises to 40%. Their first payment to Taylor was also reportedly $290 million in July 2022. 

Lore and Rodriguez agreed to purchase the teams at a $1.5 billion valuation. 

It's unclear precisely how much Lore and Rodriguez have paid so far, but to reach 80% ownership based on the $1.5 billion valuation they would need to pay $1.2 billion. Whether that gets done in one giant payment or multiple payments now through, as Woj said, "early 2024," is unknown. 

The Athletic reported that Taylor will maintain about 20% ownership. 

Mar 22, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves minority owner Alex Rodriguez hugs forward Karl-Anthony Towns (32) as he leaves the court for hitting the game-winning free-throw against the Atlanta Hawks at Target Center / Credit: Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports