A group led by Bill Chisholm, managing partner at Symphony Technology Group, has agreed to purchase the Boston Celtics for a valuation of $6.1 billion, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
That price would surpass the $6.05 billion price a group led by Josh Harris paid to buy the NFL’s Washington Commanders in 2023 as the most paid for a franchise in North American sports history, and would easily surpass the record number for the control stake of an NBA team, which was set two years ago when Mat Ishbia bought the Phoenix Suns for $4 billion.
A Massachusetts native and graduate of Dartmouth College and Penn’s Wharton School of business, Chisholm is the managing partner of California-based Symphony Technology Group. The new ownership group also includes Boston business leaders Rob Hale, who is a current Celtics shareholder, and Bruce Beal Jr.
“Growing up on the North Shore and attending college in New England, I have been a die-hard Celtics fan my entire life,” Chisholm said in a statement announcing Thursday’s agreement. “I understand how important the Celtics are to the city of Boston — the role the team plays in the community is different than any other city in the country. I also understand that there is a responsibility as a leader of the organization to the people of Boston, and I am up for this challenge.”
The Celtics — who surpassed their forever rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, with their 18th NBA title last June when they beat the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the NBA Finals — began the sale process shortly thereafter, when the team’s controlling ownership group — Boston Basketball Partners, LLC, a group led by co-owners Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca since 2002 — stunned the basketball world by announcing it would be selling the controlling stake in the franchise after more than two decades of stable ownership of one of the most iconic franchises in North American sports.
Grousbeck, whose family leads the ownership group that bought the team in 2002 for $360 million, said Chisholm asked him to stay on as CEO and governor for the next three seasons, “and I am glad to do so.”
“Bill is a terrific person and a true Celtics fan, born and raised here in the Boston area,” Grousbeck said. “His love for the team and the city of Boston, along with his chemistry with the rest of the Celtics leadership, make him a natural choice to be the next Governor and controlling owner of the team. I know he appreciates the importance of the Celtics and burns with a passion to win on the court while being totally committed to the community. Quite simply, he wants to be a great owner.”
The agreement calls for a two-part sale in which Chisholm would acquire at least 51% of the team upon approval by the NBA’s board of governors, which could come as soon as this summer. Current owners would have the option to retain the remainder of their shares until 2028, when they would be sold at a price that could be up to 20% higher, based on a formula determined by league revenue growth.
Pagliuca acknowledged the sale Thursday in a statement posted to social media, saying he made a strong push to purchase the Celtics from the Grousbeck family and that he is “saddened to find out that we have not been selected in the process.”
Here’s my statement on today’s news. pic.twitter.com/lhKCslEcgF
— Steve Pagliuca (@pagsceltics) March 20, 2025
During a conference call with reporters in November after Boston visited the White House to celebrate its title, Grousbeck reiterated the plan for him to remain in charge after the sale, and through 2028.
Timing aside, what isn’t in dispute is that for the first time in a generation, the Celtics are changing hands, with Chisholm, who has made his fortune in private equity, taking over a team that not only is one of the favorites to repeat as champions, but also has massive questions ahead of it this summer.
Boston is on pace to become the first team in NBA history to surpass $500 million in combined payroll and luxury tax payments next season, as Jayson Tatum’s supermax extension officially comes online at the same time as the final steps of the current collective bargaining agreement come online, making it prohibitively expensive to keep a team like this together for the long term.
In the meantime, however, the Celtics are one of the favorites to win the title this season, as they hope to become the first team to repeat as champions since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors.
The Celtics have won an NBA record 18 NBA titles — trailing only the New York Yankees (27) and Montreal Canadiens (24) among all North American professional sports leagues.
The Celtics’ sale also could have an impact on the potential timeline for NBA expansion. For months, sources have said that process wouldn’t move forward until there was clarity on Boston’s situation, and where this sale price wound up. Now that there is clarity — and at this kind of number — the league could revisit that timeline, sources said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
