The price of the Carolina Panthers has reached US$2.5 billion, according to people familiar with bids for the NFL team, which would set a record for a US professional sports franchise.
The rapid escalation in bidding has prompted Michael Rubin, the billionaire executive chairman of sports apparel company Fanatics, to drop out of the process, said the people, who requested anonymity because the matter is private.
A spokesman for Rubin declined to comment. His backers included Brooklyn Nets investor and Alibaba Group Holding executive vice chairman Joe Tsai.
Remaining bidders include Bedrock Industries CEO Alan Kestenbaum, who is leading an investor group that the people said is backed by Canada’s third-richest person, billionaire Jim Pattison.
Pattison, reached by telephone, said he is not currently backing an offer.
Appaloosa Management founder David Tepper, already a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, has also submitted a bid, the people said, adding that so has Ben Navarro, CEO of Sherman Financial Group, a South Carolina-based finance company that caters to subprime borrowers.
Also looming over the deal is interest from local billionaire Jim Goodnight, CEO of SAS Institute, the people said.
Goodnight has a net worth of US$9.9 billion, while Pattison is worth US$7.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
A spokeswoman for Goodnight did not immediately return an e-mail seeking comment on his interest in the team.
Steve Greenberg, the Allen & Co banker overseeing the sale of the club, also declined to comment.
Panthers owner Jerry Richardson put the team up for sale in December last year after the NFL took over an investigation into workplace harassment allegations against the long-time owner.
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