Billionaire executive Laurene Powell Jobs is selling her stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the Wizards‘ parent company, according to Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico.
Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, has deals in place with two separate buyers. One is Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), a Qatari sovereign wealth fund, while the other is Arctos Partners, a private equity firm.
It’s unclear what percentage of Monumental Sports & Entertainment each of those two buyers will take on in their respective transactions, per Soshnick and Novy-Williams. Powell Jobs reportedly assumed control of about 20% of the company when she bought in back in 2017, but she sold part of her stake in 2022.
According to Sportico, the enterprise is being valued at $7.2 billion in the sale. To be clear, that valuation doesn’t just apply to the Wizards, but to the entirety of Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s holdings — the company also controls the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, as well as Capital One Arena and Monumental Sports Network.
When Sportico published its latest NBA franchise valuations in October, the Wizards came in at $4.78 billion, making the NBA franchise the most valuable asset in Monumental’s portfolio.
QIA previously bought a 5% stake in Monumental in 2023, according to Soshnick and Novy-Williams, who note that the deal made the group the first sovereign wealth fund to directly invest in a major U.S. sports team. Arctos, meanwhile, has stakes in several franchises across U.S. sports, including the Warriors.
Ted Leonsis remains the controlling owner of Monumental and the Wizards. Other minority shareholders, per Sportico, include billionaire Jeffrey Skoll entrepreneur, BET co-founder Sheila Johnson and Washington Nationals owner Mark Lerner.