Blue Owl near deal for stake in Dan Gilbert’s Cleveland Cavaliers: Report

Blue Owl Capital Inc. reportedly is nearing a deal to buy a stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The potential deal would give the private equity firm between 5% and 10% of NBA franchise owned by Detroit billionaire Dan Gilbert, according to a report by Bloomberg, citing unidentified people familiar with the deal.

Blue Owl, through its Dyal HomeCourt Partners fund, previously bought a stake in the Phoenix Suns in 2021, but divested after the franchise was sold in 2023, Bloomberg reported.

The private equity firm is one of three approved to own parts of NBA franchises. Arctos Partners owns stakes four franchises while Sixth Street owns part of two others.

Gilbert, the billionaire founder of Rocket Mortgage and a prominent Detroit-area sports and real estate investor, has been shopping a portion of his Cavs for about a year, according to a Sportico report.

The Cavaliers took down Gilbert’s hometown Detroit Pistons this past season in a seven-game playoff series.

Gilbert sent busloads of Cavs fans to root against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena in the second-round playoff series. About 500 season ticketholders attended each game and a pregame party at Rocket-owned event space, The Beacon.

mreinhart@detroitnews.com

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Blue Owl near deal for stake in Dan Gilbert-owned Cleveland Cavaliers: Report