Warriors sell 5% stake in franchise to private equity firm Arctos

The Warriors have sold an estimated 5% of their $5.21 billion franchise to private equity firm Arctos Sports Partners, according to Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico.

Soshnick and Novy-Williams note that this purchase marks the first instance that a private equity firm has purchased a portion of an NBA club, following the NBA’s decision to expand its pool of prospective owners to include “institution investors.”

Arctos, founded by private equity veteran Ian Charles and former Madison Square Garden Company CEO David “Doc” O’Connor, holds roughly $1 billion in assets that it hopes to invest across multiple sports teams.

Majority owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber bought the franchise in 2010 for a then-record $450M. Eleven years, five Finals appearances and three titles later, they have turned quite a profit.