The basketball team Boston Celtics has been bought for $6.1 billion on Thursday, by a team of investors led by private equity executive Bill Chisholm. This is the highest ever paid ownership change for a North American sports franchise, beating the $6 billion purchase of the NFL’s Washington Commanders in 2023, which due to the exchange rate to sterling at the time equated to £4.8 billion.
It also beat the $4 billion sale of another NBA team, the Phoenix Suns, in 2022. Prior to this purchase, the Celtics was owned by the Grousbeck family and partner Steve Pagliuca.
In 2024, the Celtics were ranked by Forbes as the fourth-most valuable NBA team at $6 billion, with the Golden State Warriors ranking first at an estimated $8.8 billion.
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This sale would be a huge return on investment for Grousbecks and partner Steve Pagliuca, whose group had bought the team for $360 million in 2002. Pagliuca had hoped to take sole ownership of the Celtics but was outbid by Chisholm. He said on Thursday that he was “saddened to find out that we have not been selected in the process.”
Chisholm is the co-founder and managing partner of California-based private equity firm Symphony Technology Group, and a lifelong fan of the Celtics. “Growing up on the North Shore and attending college in New England, I have been a die-hard Celtics fan my entire life,” he said. “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.”
Chisholm will take charge of the Celtics after the 2027-28 season. Grousbeck will remain in his role as chief executive and governor till then.