Suns’ Ishbia hits back at minority partners over buyout demands

Mat Ishbia Strikes Back: Minority Suns Owners in the Eye of the Hurricane

The majority owner of the Phoenix Suns, Mat Ishbia, has filed a countersuit against two minority owners of the team. The dispute centers on the latter’s demand that Ishbia buy their shares at an “exorbitant price,” according to court documents. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Delaware State Court. The minority owners in question are Scott Seldin and Andy Kohlberg, who remained on the team from the previous regime under former owner Robert Sarver. In August, Seldin and Kohlberg sued the team, alleging that Ishbia had denied them access to internal records. The Suns sent a letter in August to Kohlberg and Seldin, where they stated that both men were demanding that the team buy their stake for $825 million. This figure would value the team at approximately $6 billion, a 60% increase since Ishbia acquired his majority stake in 2023. The Suns, in the obtained letter, stated that they are not obligated to purchase the shares of Seldin and Kohlberg.

“When Mat Ishbia bought the Suns and Mercury, he couldn’t have been clearer with investors: he was going to invest in the teams, the fans, and the community,” a spokesperson for Ishbia stated on Tuesday. “Every investor had the option at that time: sell at a higher price or stay and invest alongside him. Andy Kohlberg and Scott Seldin want both. They don’t want to invest in the teams, but they are demanding a significantly higher payment than what Mat originally offered, which was still more than 20 times their original investment. That’s not how it works, and we are confident that we will prevail in court.”

Mat Ishbia Spokesperson

Michael Carlinsky, of Quinn Emanuel, who represents the minority partners, responded to the counterclaim in a subsequent statement on Tuesday.

“Mr. Ishbia’s so-called ‘declaratory judgment lawsuit’ is nothing more than a thinly veiled effort to frustrate our clients’ books and records litigation through delay; he’s not actually ‘suing’ anyone,” the statement reads. “That said, we intend to add our full set of counterclaims for damages arising from Mr. Ishbia’s mismanagement and breach of duties and will obtain the evidence he has been fighting to hide from us.”

Michael Carlinsky, representative of the minority partners

The August lawsuit by Seldin and Kohlberg was the sixth against the Suns since November 2024. The other five were filed by current or former employees, who alleged discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wrongful termination. During an appearance on September 24, Ishbia addressed the demands.

“Obviously, anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason they want, for anything they want,” Ishbia said. “How many lawsuits have we actually lost? The answer is zero. How many will we lose? Zero.

Mat Ishbia

Ishbia continued explaining his position on the demands.