By JIMMY GOLEN AP Sports Writer
BOSTON (AP) — The sale of the Boston Celtics was finalized on Tuesday, with private equity mogul Bill Chisholm taking over control of the NBA’s most-decorated franchise from a group led by Wyc Grousbeck that had owned them for more than two decades.
The team was put on the market last summer, soon after it won its record 18th NBA championship. Chisholm won the bidding in March with an offer that valued the franchise at more than $6.1 billion — a record price paid for an American professional sports team.
The NBA approved the deal unanimously last week, and the money changed hands on Tuesday.
Chisholm takes ownership of at least 51% of the team, with full control coming by 2028 at a price that could bring the total value to $7.3 billion. That’s the highest price ever paid for a team in the four major North American sports, though a piece of the Los Angeles Lakers changed hands this summer at a price that would value the entire franchise at $10 billion.
Grousbeck led a group that bought the Celtics in 2002 for $360 million. Under their ownership, the Celtics won two NBA titles, lost in the finals two other times and made the playoffs in 20 of 23 seasons.
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