Portland Trail Blazers set to be sold for staggering $4BILLION as NHL owner Tom Dundon lines up eye-watering bid

Tom Dundon, a billionaire and the owner of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, has agreed to purchase the Portland Trail Blazers from the estate of Paul Allen for a massive $4billion price tag.

Allen, the late co-founder of Microsoft, bought the team over three-and-a-half decades ago and his estate has owned the Blazers since his passing in 2018.

Now, according to multiple reports (first reported by Sportico), Dundon is purchasing the team. Per ESPN, Dundon intends to keep the team in Oregon.

In addition to Dundon, other members of the new ownership group include Blue Owl Capital co-president Marc Zahr and Portland-based co-CEO of Collective Global Sheel Tyle. 

The Allen Family initially announced their intentions to sell the team back in May. Proceeds from the sale will be donated to philanthropic endeavors.

The purchase does not include the family's stakes in other sports teams: the NFL's Seattle Seahawks or the 25 percent stake it holds in MLS' Seattle Sounders FC. 

The family made the choice to sell the Blazers following multiple key developments in recent years.

Last year, the league agreed to a new 11-year media rights deal with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon for a combined $77billion.

Additionally, the Blazers sold their home arena to the city of Portland for $1 and the land underneath at a price of $7million.

This was done in an effort to renovate the arena. It also included a new lease through 2030. 

Dundon's acquisition of the team comes eight years after he purchased a majority share of the Hurricanes. He became the team's sole owner in 2021.

Dundon is also best known as being the chairman of the board of directors for the Alliance of American Football - a short-lived professional football league that played only eight games.

Last season, the Trail Blazers finished 4th in the Northwest Division and 12th in the Western Conference - missing the playoffs with a record of 36-46.