Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore emerge victorious in arbitration dispute over ownership of the Wolves

A panel of arbitrators ruled on Monday with a 2-1 vote in favor of Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore in their pursuit of a controlling stake in the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA's Minnesota Lynx.

The NBA Board of Governors must give their approval before the deal can be finalized. Current owner and chairman Glen Taylor expressed his disappointment with the decision in a statement on Monday evening.

The sale was previously approved by NBA owners in 2021, at the beginning of a nearly five-year long process.

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In 2021, Rodriguez, a former MLB player, and his business partner Lore agreed to purchase the teams for $1.5 billion. They initially bought a 20 percent stake and had the option to increase their ownership to a majority, but Taylor abruptly took the teams off the market.

Taylor claimed that Rodriguez and Lore had failed to make a payment, while the duo argued that Taylor was experiencing "seller's remorse" as the value of the Timberwolves and Lynx continued to rise. Forbes estimated the Timberwolves' value at $3.1 billion last fall.

The case was brought before an arbitration panel earlier this year, and they have now ruled that Taylor is obligated to sell the agreed upon stakes to Rodriguez and Lore at the original valuation of $1.5 billion. According to Sportico, the duo still owes around $942 million.

Taylor's statement continued, "We will thoroughly review the decision before making any further comments. We want to express our sincere gratitude to the players, staff, and loyal fans of the Timberwolves and Lynx for their support."

Rodriguez and Lore also released a statement to ESPN, saying, "We are extremely pleased with today's ruling. We look forward to working with the NBA to complete the approval process and finalize this transaction. Our focus will then shift to bringing championships to Minnesota for our amazing fans and the Twin Cities community."