Just days after revealing on a podcast that he would be leaving the hit ABC show “Shark Tank” after its 16th season next year, Mark Cuban is making another big business move.
Cuban, who is the longstanding owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, is selling his majority stake in the team to Miriam Adelson — the widow of billionaire and casino kingpin Sheldon Adelson and the owner of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation.
Should the deal go through, Adelson would become a 57% majority owner of the Mavericks per the team’s current $3.5 billion valuation.
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According to a release, Adelson will be offloading $2 billion in stock from the Las Vegas Sands Corporation (about 10% of her total stake in the company) in order to help “fund the purchase of a majority interest in a professional sports franchise.”
Mark Cuban attends a basketball game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks at Crypto.com Arena (Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
Adelson was granted the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Donald Trump in 2018 for her philanthropic work in combatting addiction. She’s worth an estimated $33 billion, per Bloomberg.
The Adelson family confirmed the plan to purchase the Mavericks in a statement.
“Through our commitment and additional investment in the team, we look forward to partnering with Mark Cuban to build on the team’s success and legacy in Dallas and beyond,” the family wrote, per CNBC. “The goal is to win and to have a team that proudly represents the greater DFW area and serves as a strong and valuable member of the local community.”
According to ESPN, Cuban would still remain in control of all basketball-related decisions with the Mavericks and would continue to serve as “governor of the franchise.”
Miriam Adelson receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House in Washington, D.C on November 16, 2018 (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Cuban became the owner of the Mavericks in 2000 after purchasing a $285 million majority share in the team.
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“The biggest change [in the organization] has been the skill set of the players. They are far more skilled, more athletic, and faster,” Cuban told GQ of the ever-changing nature of his team and the league in an interview just two months ago. “The game is night-and-day different. What still needs to change? Management of the officiating group. The names have changed. Nothing else has.”
Cuban, who is also the CEO and owner of healthcare company CostPlusDrugs, is currently worth an estimated $6.42 billion.
