This article will be updated.
Marc Lasry, the co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, has reached an agreement to sell his share of the team to Jimmy and Dee Haslam, who also owns the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The transaction values the Bucks at $3.5 billion. A spokesperson for the Browns declined to comment.
Lasry purchased the team in 2014 for $550 million along with Wes Edens and Jamie Dinan, with each purchasing an equal share of the organization.
Lasry is currently the team’s governor, which is the top decision-making position within an NBA organization. He and Edens alternate in the role, and the Haslams will have the same arrangement within the ownership group, the person familiar with the deal said.
Before the sale becomes official, the NBA will have to complete a background check on the Haslams. Then, the league’s board of governors will vote on whether to approve the sale. Once the league has approved a buyer, the board’s vote is considered a formality .
The agreement between Lasry and Haslam comes two months after Mat Ishbia reached an agreement to purchase a majority share of the Phoenix Suns. Ishbia purchased 57 percent of the Suns, which were valued at $4 billion as part of that deal.
He was approved by the Board of Governors with 29-0 vote — Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, Isbhia’s rival in the mortgage business, abstained.
Jenny Vrentas contributed reporting.