On Wednesday, Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross announced that he had sold part of the Dolphins to Ares, Joe Tsai, and Ollie Weisberg.

Back in October there was a Bloomberg report that this sale was in the works. The Bloomberg Report stated Miami Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross will sell a 10% stake in the Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium, and the F1 Race to Ares Management.

Joseph Tsai, who also owns the Brooklyn Nets and the WNBA’s New York Liberty, would buy 3 percent through Blue Pool Capital, costing Tsai around $240 million. Thus, Ross is selling a 13% stake overall, divided between Tsai and Ares Management.

Ares Management is one of four private equity firms approved by the league to buy stakes in NFL franchises.

This deal is the NFL’s first private equity transaction after the league changed its ownership rules earlier this year to allow institutional investors.

The Bloomberg report from October stated Ross is targeting the December NFL Owners meeting for league approval and per sources close to Ross he is still committed to keeping the majority stake of the team within his family, so this announcement today puts him on track with that..

There was a New York Times article in September stating that, Ross was looking to sell 15% of the team to private equity (per NFL Rules you can only sell 10% though). Mr. Ross has been talking to multiple private equity firms and individuals to sell 15% of the team at a $7 billion valuation.

The 15% Mr. Ross is looking for roughly amounts to $1.05 billion. In 2009, he bought the entire franchise for $1 billion.

Earlier this year, in May, Safid Deen of USA Today reported that Stephen Ross was offered $10 billion for controlling interest in the Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium, and the F1 Miami Race. Mr. Ross declined the offer.

In November 2023, Andy Slater of FoxSports640 South Florida reported that Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was in talks to sell a minority interest in the Dolphins (as well as Hard Rock Stadium) to hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin. Per Slater, the NFL is aware of this sale at this time. Griffin is worth an estimated $35 billion per Forbes.

There are unconfirmed reports that the reason all talks with Griffin over the years fell apart is because Ross didn’t want to surrender control of the franchise.

Per Front Office Sports: “In August, NFL owners voted to allow private equity funds to own up to 10% of an NFL team. To get his 15% sale approved, the Times reported Ross would add “wealthy individual partners” beyond the 10% allowed for a PE stake. Ross was reportedly talking to Arctos Partners, which also owns a minority stake in the Tampa Bay Lightning.”

The NY Times article states the Buffalo Bills, LA Chargers, and Philadelphia Eagles are also talking with private equity firms about selling them a minority interest. The article goes on to say the Chargers are in advanced talks with two different private equity firms.

Per a Forbes Article, here is information on Joseph Tsai

  • Joseph Tsai is a cofounder of Alibaba Group and ranks as its second-largest individual shareholder after Jack Ma.
  • He rose from vice chairman to chairman in 2023 amid rising competition for the e-commerce giant.
  • In 2018, he bought 49% of the Brooklyn Nets National Basketball Association team; the following year he purchased the remaining 51%.
  • He holds two degrees from Yale University–an undergraduate degree in economics and East Asian studies and a law degree.
  • Taiwan-born Tsai carries a Canadian passport.

Tsai is Governor of the Brooklyn Nets in the National Basketball Association and New York Liberty in the Women’s National Basketball Association and is Chairman of the teams’ home arena Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. He owns two professional indoor lacrosse teams, based in San Diego and Las Vegas, in the National Lacrosse League. He is also an investor in the Premier Lacrosse League and Los Angeles FC of Major League Soccer.

Per the Yale Website: Tsai is a Founding Board Member of The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), a nonprofit launched in 2021 that provides resources to Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities to mobilize against hate and discrimination and build the infrastructure to improve AAPI advocacy, power, and representation.

In 2017, Tsai received from Yale the George H.W. Bush ‘48 Lifetime of Leadership Award which honors alumni athletes for significant leadership contributions in their respective fields of work.

Through the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation, Tsai and his wife Clara Wu Tsai are active philanthropists supporting initiatives in education, research, criminal justice reform, economic mobility, the arts and humanitarian relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tsais are also Founders of the newly launched Tsai Leadership Program at Yale Law School.

Per the Ares Management Website, here is how they describe themselves on their website: “Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, real estate, private equity and infrastructure asset classes. We seek to provide flexible capital to support businesses and create value for our stakeholders and within our communities. By collaborating across our investment groups, we aim to deliver consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market cycles.”

 

Oliver “Ollie” Weisberg is part of the Brooklyn Nets and per their website here is some information on him below.

“Oliver Weisberg is the Chief Executive Officer of Blue Pool Capital, a multi-strategy investment firm based in Hong Kong. Weisberg is an Alternate Governor of the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty, and Vice Chairman of BSE Global.

Weisberg graduated from Harvard College and spent considerable time living and doing business in Mainland China. He is a fluent Chinese speaker.

Weisberg started on Wall Street in New York and built his career in private equity, special situations, and hedge fund investing in Asia. He was part of Goldman Sachs’ Asian Special Situations and Principal Investment Area divisions, where he represented the firm’s investment in Alibaba and sat on the Alibaba board. In 2006, Weisberg joined Citadel and was a Partner in Hong Kong when he left to join Blue Pool Capital in 2015.

Weisberg manages the firm’s investments in the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty, San Diego Seals, Premier Lacrosse League, and Los Angeles FC. Weisberg played competitive tennis in high school and was a walk on to the Harvard Squash team.

For over a decade, Weisberg was on the board and instrumental in helping to build Teach for China; he is currently on the Advisory Board of the Harvard University Shanghai Center and the Harvard China Fund. Weisberg serves on the board of Squash + Education Alliance (SEA). He is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin.”