Report: Ishbia deal to buy Suns expected by NBA trade deadline

THE BID BY METRO DETROIT mortgage mogul Mat Ishbia to take over an NBA team is imminent, according to a report Wednesday afternoon.

Ishbia, the president and CEO of Pontiac-based United Wholesale Mortgage, is likely to assume control of the Phoenix Suns franchise within two weeks and ahead of the Feb. 9 NBA trade deadline, ESPN first reported, citing anonymous sources. The billionaire Ishbia and his brother Justin — a Chicago private equity executive — first agreed to acquire the team from current owner Robert Sarver late last year in a deal that values the team at $4 billion, according to reports. The Ishbias would have a con- trolling

While Ishbia — who was recently named a Crain’s Newsmaker of the Year — has been unable to speak on the deal while it moves through a review by the NBA, the executive recently told Crain’s that an unsuccessful attempt to acquire the Denver Broncos NFL franchise helped prepare him to move on the Suns.

“I learned in Denver, if you want it, you better go get it. Because other people are going to be really aggressive,” Ishbia told Crain’s earlier this month. “So in Denver, I took more of an approach of trying to gure out how I could buy the team and what the price was. In Phoenix, I took a di erent approach, we’ll say. And one worked out really well and one didn’t work out as I hoped.”

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