The Boston Celtics are arguably the most storied franchise in the NBA. The team holds the league record with 18 titles and is fresh off another championship. Led by Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and an impressive supporting cast, the Celtics have been in title contention for years and are poised for another deep playoff run this year. They just might be doing it with a new owner.
And while the record-setting $6.1 billion price tag turned heads, the biggest surprise wasn’t the money—it was the man writing the check…
Until this week, Bill Chisholm was a total unknown to most sports fans and even many in the private equity world. No Wikipedia page. No photos on Getty Images. No profile on CelebrityNetWorth.com. Just a diehard Celtics fan from small-town Massachusetts stepping into the spotlight.
Bill Chisholm, the managing partner of Symphony Technology Group, agreed to buy the Celtics for a whopping $6.1 billion valuation. It’s a record for any North American sports team.
Chisholm’s firm has about $10 billion in assets, so there was some initial concern over where the money was coming from for such a deal. His name didn’t even come up in early rumors surrounding the Celtics sale. “We know so little about this guy I don’t even know how to pronounce his name,” Celtics superfan Bill Simmons said on his podcast. (It’s pronounced “Chizzum,” for the record.) The fact that he was able to personally front the funds required to become the controlling owner shows just how lucrative even lower-profile private equity ventures can be.
But Chisholm has tried to assuage any fears—he’s not purchasing the team alone. He’ll get an assist from other investors, including Rob Hale (a current Celtics shareholder) and Bruce Beal Jr. The investment group will also receive at least $1 billion from private equity firm Sixth Street.
The Boston Celtics celebrate the 18th championship in team history. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Per league rules, Chisholm will have to put up at least 15% of the asking price. Half of that—$450 million in this case—has to be paid immediately. The other half can be paid three years down the line. A person close to the deal said the plan is for Chisholm to get together $500 million now and another $500 million for the future payment.
Chisholm grew up in Georgetown, Massachusetts, and first fell in love with the team while watching games from the obstructed-view seats of the old Boston Garden. He studied at Dartmouth and got his MBA from Wharton before working at Bain Capital and eventually co-founding Symphony Technology Group in 2002. Despite managing nearly $12 billion in assets, Chisholm had remained almost entirely out of the public eye—until now.
He recently met with the team to introduce himself and give a few words of encouragement.
The team’s controlling ownership group, Boston Basketball Partners, LLC, started looking at selling the team shortly after the Celtics won the championship in June. The group, led by Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca, bought the team in 2002 for $360 million. Grousbeck will stay on as CEO and governor for at least three years. Though he is the CEO and face of the former ownership group, Wyc Grousbeck only owns around 2% of the team. So his cut of the $6.1 billion sale will be around $122 million. Wyc’s father, Irving Grousbeck, is believed to be the majority owner.
Chisholm, for his part, welcomed Grousbeck’s continued involvement, calling it an “intelligence test.” “Why would you want to mess with that?” he said. “This is working at every level.”
Pagliuca, or “Pags” as he’s often called, put in an ownership bid, as well. He said his team made a “fully guaranteed and financed offer at a record price,” but ultimately was not chosen as the new owners. Pagliuca didn’t hold back after losing the bid. He pointed out that his offer came with “no debt or private equity money that would potentially hamstring our ability to compete in the future”—a not-so-subtle jab at Chisholm’s backing from Sixth Street. He added that his group remains “at the ready” if the deal falls through.
Now, the once-unknown private equity exec from Georgetown, Mass., is taking over the most decorated franchise in NBA history—and inheriting a payroll that’s about to skyrocket. But if Chisholm’s deal-making instincts and lifelong fandom are any indication, he might just be the right guy to keep the Celtics winning. Let’s just hope he doesn’t end up with buyer’s remorse—or a freshly minted Wikipedia page full of regrets.
