Infighting among the Phoenix Suns and Mercury ownership group officially became a legal matter on Wednesday, with two minority owners filing a lawsuit against the teams' holding company and majority owner Mat Ishbia.
Per Front Office Sports, Kisco WC Sports II and Kent Circle Investments are demanding the teams open their books amid claims of mismanagement, deals with side partners at their expense and a retaliatory capital call.
The two parties were the only minority owners who chose to keep their stakes in the Suns and Mercury when Ishbia purchased control of the teams at a $4 billion valuation from the embattled Robert Sarver in 2023. The significantly redacted lawsuit claims that Kisco began negotiating a buyout of its stake in September "after becoming dissatisfied with the [Ishbia's] management," while Kent Circle had "growing concerns."
Instead of answering Kisco's request for "a final response" by June 1, the lawsuit claims Ishbia instead held a capital call demanding money from investors on June 2, which it described as "part of a leverage strategy to exert pressure on and dilute the company’s minority owners."
The minority owners are now suing with the demand they be given a more complete look at the teams' financials. They claim they were only given an unsatisfactory partial look when they asked the company, with a corresponding non-disclosure agreement.
In a letter to the plaintiffs that was viewed by FOS, Ishbia's camp held a dim view of the effort:
The letter, sent Tuesday, says Kisco and Kent Circle have “resorted to threatening baseless litigation and sensationalized press coverage as a means of intimidating and coercing [Ishbia] into unprincipled and unjustified buyout negotiations.”
“That will not work,” the letter says. “[Ishbia] will not be bullied by these sharp and abusive tactics.”
Meanwhile, the minority owners are painting the lawsuit as an attempt to simply see how the teams they co-own are doing business:
The plaintiffs’ attorneys, Michael Carlinsky and Michael Barlow of Quinn Emanuel, framed the fight as a transparency issue, saying in a statement, “Our clients sued to obtain records to which they are entitled as minority owners of the Suns.”
“They are concerned by the manager’s approach towards minority owners, and want more information about certain spending and capital raises in which the manager has engaged,” they said. “Transparency with minority owners is not optional, and our clients think it is critical to the success of the Suns.”
Those complaints aside, it's been a rocky couple years for the Suns since Ishbia took over. The mortgage billionaire purchased the team when it was a regular playoff contender and not far removed from a trip to the NBA Finals in 2021.
His tenure has so far been defined by aggressive, win-now moves that have not worked out, most notably the trades for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, both of whom moved on from the team this offseason. Phoenix has not won a playoff game in the last two years, missing the postseason outright last season with a 36-46 record and getting swept in the first round the previous season. With the newly hired Jordan Ott, the team is also on its fourth head coach in four years.
The night before the lawsuit was reported, Ishbia complained about the media's low expectations for the Suns in the upcoming season, with the curious strategy of pointing how much they have overrated his team in the past two years.
The Suns will begin the 2025-26 season on Oct. 22.
Comments