Phoenix Suns and Mercury sold to mortgage lender Mat Ishbia

Billionaire mortgage lender Mat Ishbia and his brother Justin have agreed to buy the majority stake of the NBA Phoenix Suns and the WNBA Phoenix Mercury including all of the majority owner Robert Sarver’s interest US$4 billion.

The deal, which would make Mat Ishbia the team’s governor, while his brother serves as an alternate, is still subject to approval from the NBA’s board of governors and a background check.

Ishbia, the United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) president and CEO, was recently valued to be worth US$4.7 billion by Forbes.

He was a member of the Michigan State basketball team that won the national championship in 2000.

Before the NFL's Denver Broncos were sold to an ownership group led by Rob Walton for $4.56 billion, Ishbia was considered a potential buyer. He has also stated a desire to purchase the Washington Commanders. It is unknown if his acquisition of the Suns and Mercury will cause him to withdraw from the competition for the Commanders.

As a result of the NBA's investigation into workplace misbehavior, Sarver was suspended for a year and then announced in September that he would sell both franchises. This month, ESPN released a piece containing new accusations of abuse and misbehavior against a number of Suns executives.

There has allegedly been a lot of interest in the teams, with people like Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle, among those rumored to be considering an offer by US newspapers.