Celtics

Wyc Grousbeck sheds more light on plan to sell Celtics during CNBC interview

"The family has agreed to find a new ownership group coming in that will make everybody proud of the Celtics moving forward.”

Wyc Grousbeck expects the sale of the Celtics to begin in 2025. (Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

July 8, 2024

Just a week after the Celtics formally announced that Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C. — the ownership group for the team— plans to sell its shares of the franchise, lead owner Wyc Grousbeck commented on the sale for the first time Monday during an appearance on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” program.

While Grousbeck has served as the primary figurehead atop the Celtics’ ownership group for years now, he clarified on Monday that he himself is not the principal owner of Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C. ‘s stake.

“I want to clarify, it’s not my majority stake,” Grousbeck noted. “The control of the team is owned by my family, so it’s a family that I belong to and then I have the Celtics family I also belong to, so there’s an intersection and there’s an involvement. The family has been involved for 22 years. There’s been discussions and thoughts about estate planning and family planning.”

Citing “sources close to the situation,” The Boston Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy wrote in a recent column that H. Irving Grousbeck, Wyc’s father, might be the person who is spearheading the Celtics’ sale.

“H. Irving Grousbeck — still teaching at Stanford Business School — has been the money behind the group since the beginning,” Shaughnessy wrote. “(Forbes lists “Irving Grousbeck and family’s” worth at $1.8 billion.) There’s every indication that the billionaire rarely seen at Celtics games is motivating this sale in an attempt to get his affairs in order.”

As far as the actual sale of the franchise, Grousbeck added on CNBC that the ownership group expects to complete the sale in two parts — reiterating the language noted in the team’s statement as far as Grousbeck’s plans to remain on as Governor of the team until 2028.

“The plan, the expectation is to sell the team in two parts, 51 percent going fairly soon,” Grousbeck said. “Forty-nine percent then closing in a second closing, that’s the expectation in 2028. I’m planning or expected to stay on until 2028 and we’re going to hire bankers and advisors and this is going to be quite a bidding process.”

As far as potential buyers for the Celtics, Grousbeck remained mum beyond acknowledging that co-owner Steve Pagliuca plans to be involved in the upcoming bidding process. While it remains to be seen who will be running the franchise in a few years’ time, Grousbeck added that the Celtics will be in good hands with whoever becomes the highest bidder.

“Steve has been a terrific lead partner, lead co-owner in many ways,” Grousbeck said. “Brought Danny Ainge to the table back in the day when we were looking for a general manager. Steve has been great and is a great person and we welcome him for sure in the bidding process. … “We haven’t even begun the process but the family has agreed to find a new ownership group coming in that will make everybody proud of the Celtics moving forward.”