Mat Ishbia agrees to buy Suns, Mercury for $4 billion

NEW YORK: Mortgage executive Mat Ishbia has agreed in principle to buy a majority stake of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury from the embattled owner Robert Sarver for $4 billion, the sides announced Tuesday.

The sale is expected to take several weeks to complete. Ishbia — who is chairman, president and chief executive of United Wholesale Mortgage, which bills itself as the nation’s largest mortgage lender — will be subjected to a vetting process by the NBA, and once that is complete, the league’s board of governors will have to approve the sale.

The board isn’t scheduled to meet until March, though it could convene virtually if the vetting process is completed beforehand.

Forbes recently listed Ishbia’s net worth at $5.1 billion. Ishbia is a former Michigan State player under coach Tom Izzo, and was a member of the Spartans’ NCAA championship team in 2000.

“I am extremely excited to be the next Governor of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury,” Ishbia said in a statement Tuesday night. “Both teams have an incredibly dynamic fan base and I have loved experiencing the energy of the Valley over the last few months.

“Basketball is at the core of my life, from my high school days as a player to the honor of playing for Coach Izzo and winning a national title at Michigan State University. I’ve spent the last two decades building my mortgage business, United Wholesale Mortgage, into the No. 1 mortgage lender in America and I’m confident that we can bring that same level of success to these great organizations on and off the floor.”

If the sale closes at $4 billion, it would be the largest purchase in NBA history. Joe Tsai bought the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center for $3.3 billion in 2019, and Tilman Fertitta purchased the