Once the lead owner and governor of the Boston Celtics, Wyc Grousbeck’s role in the team’s front office is now noticeably smaller. Back in August, his time as lead owner came to an end, and he now serves as the marquee franchise’s co-lead owner.
One report from Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe suggests his influence in the organization will only continue to dwindle in the coming years, too. According to Himmelsbach, the expectation is that Grousbeck’s stake in the Celtics will dip to merely 3% by the year 2028. He’s currently got a 13% stake in the team, for perspective.
“Aditya Mittal, chief executive of a global steel giant, had explored a bid to become lead governor but eventually backed Chisholm with a $100 million commitment,” he wrote.
“Mittal’s interest swelled during visits to Boston, though, and he upped his stake to $1 billion and became alternate governor. Pagliuca also released investors from his group, allowing them to join Chisholm. And Wyc Grousbeck, who remains a visible presence within the franchise, wound up with a 13% stake. It will be reduced to about 3% when the second phase of the deal closes in 2028.”
Grousbeck’s ownership group of course sold the Celtics organization to a group headed by Bill Chisholm earlier this year, but the Grousbeck family supposedly had initial discussions about taking an earlier route. They had talks about instead selling the team much later down the line in the year 2033.
“Three years later, Chisholm co-founded the software-focused private equity firm Symphony Technology Group, and he became a shrewd dealmaker who found potential in flawed businesses,” he wrote.
“In one early transaction, he bought a struggling company that scraped data from UPC codes for about $100 million. Chisholm helped revive the business and sold it for nearly $1 billion about six years later. According to industry sources, there had been discussions within the Grousbeck family about selling in 2033. But the decision to divest sooner for estate and family-planning purposes was made in January by the family’s patriarch, 91-year-old Irv Grousbeck. Irv’s son, Wyc, who has been lead owner since the family purchased the team from Paul Gaston for $320 million in 2002, thought it was too soon.”
Grousbeck spent more than 20 years as the Celtics’ lead owner and won two championships in that time. His first came in 2008, when Boston was spearheaded by its three-headed monster of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Then, a whole lot more recently, Boston was the last team standing in the 2024 NBA Playoffs after it won a league-best 64 games in the 2023-24 regular season.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Wyc Grousbeck stake in Celtics to majorly drop in near future
