Suns Retailers Sue Mat Ishbia for Access to Records
Two minority owners of the Phoenix Suns, who remained from the previous regime under former owner Robert Sarver, have filed a lawsuit against the team. According to the lawsuit, current Suns owner Mat Ishbia has denied access to internal records. The lawsuit was filed in Delaware on August 21 and a redacted version was made public on Wednesday. The lawyers who filed it represent Kisco WC Sports II and Kent Circle Investments. Andy Kohlberg is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Kisco Senior Living, while Scott Seldin is the president of Kent Circle Partners. Both men were minority owners under Sarver. Sarver sold the Suns and Mercury in 2023 after an NBA investigation into Sarver’s conduct and the team’s work culture. Ishbia bought a majority stake of 57% for $2.28 billion, with Sarver selling his 37% stake for $1.48 billion. At the time of the sale in 2023, 14 of the 16 partners in the Suns ownership group accepted Ishbia’s purchase offer for a valuation of $4 billion. Kohlberg and Seldin were the only two who did not sell.The Suns declined to comment on the lawsuit, the sixth against the organization since November 2024. The other five were filed by current or former employees. Some of their accusations include discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wrongful termination. In the complaint, the lawyers representing Seldin and Kohlberg state that in September 2024, Kohlberg began negotiating a purchase with an advisor to Ishbia. Seldin, for his part, did not seek a purchase. Kohlberg’s conversations continued until 2025, with a request for a final response from Ishbia by June 1st. At that time, the lawyers say that Ishbia convened a capital call the next day, June 2nd, to “exert pressure and dilute” the ownership shares of the minority owners of the Suns. In the complaint, the lawyers representing Seldin and Kohlberg also say they learned that Ishbia “may have entered into undisclosed side agreements with other members of the Suns, including side agreements, related to the capital call.” They say they have been unable to obtain information about the team’s expenses and raised issues with the financing of the Mercury’s $100 million practice facility, which the team unveiled in July 2024. They claim that Ishbia refused to provide any information on how the facility was financed, except to say that the team “fulfilled its duties under the LLC Agreement”. On Tuesday, the lawyers representing the Suns and Ishbia sent a letter to the lawyers representing Kohlberg and Seldin. In the letter, the Suns claim that Kohlberg and Seldin demanded that the Suns buy their stake for $825 million, a figure that would put the team’s value at about $6 billion, a 60% increase over the value when Ishbia bought his majority stake in 2023. The Suns say they have no obligation to buy them. The letter continues…Our clients demanded to obtain the records to which they are entitled as minority owners of the Suns. They are concerned about the manager’s approach to minority owners and want more information about certain expenses and capital increases in which the manager has participated. Transparency with minority owners is not optional, and our clients believe it is fundamental to the success of the Suns.
Michael Carlinsky and Michael Barlow of Quinn Emanuel, representatives of the minority owners.
