Tag: Rob Walton

Team led by Arkansas graduate set to purchase Denver Broncos

Rob Walton, part of the Walton-Penner group, has agreed to purchase the NFL franchise for $4.65 billion.

An Arkansas graduate and the heir to the fortune of the world’s largest retailer has agreed to buy the Denver Broncos.

[autotag]Rob Walton[/autotag], a 1966 graduate of the University of Arkansas and the son of the late Sam Walton, the founder of Wal Mart, heads a group that has purchased the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion dollars, which is the highest that anyone has paid for a professional sports franchise. reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Following the purchase, Walton released a statement regarding the purchase of the NFL franchise:

We are thrilled to be selected to move forward with the purchase of the Denver Broncos! Carrie, Greg and I are inspired by the opportunity to steward this great organization in a vibrant community full of opportunity and passionate fans.

Having lived and worked in Colorado, we’ve always admired the Broncos. Our enthusiasm has only grown as we’ve learned more about the team, staff and Broncos Country over the last few months.

We are excited to announce that Mellody Hobson, Co-CEO of Ariel Investments, has agreed to join our ownership group. Beyond her role at Ariel, Mellody is an influential leader in corporate and civic organizations across the nation.

Mellody currently serves as Chair of the Board of Starbucks Corporation and is also a director of JPMorgan Chase. We know she will bring her strategic acumen and leadership perspective to our team.

Thank you to Joe Ellis and the staff of the Broncos for the first-class manner in which they have conducted this sale process. In addition, we thank Hogan Lovells for their guidance and support in this effort.

We look forward to earning the confidence and support of the NFL as we take the next step in this process. When the necessary approval procedures are met, our family is excited to share more with Broncos fans, the organization and the community.

According to Broncos Wire, the sale is subject to NFL approval, which could arrive within the next few weeks. Walton will become the team’s new majority owner with Greg and Carrie Penner serving as minority owners.

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Greg and Carrie Penner expected to handle Broncos’ day-to-day operations

Rob Walton will become the Broncos’ new majority owner, but Greg and Carrie Penner are expected to handle the team’s day-to-day operations.

The Denver Broncos will soon have a new majority owner: Walmart heir Rob Walton, a 77-year-old businessman. He’s the son of late Walmart founder Sam Walton.

Walton led a group that has agreed to purchase the team for $4.65 billion, pending NFL approval. As the controlling owner, Walton will pay at least 30% of the purchase price ($1.395 billion), and possibly more.

Walton’s daughter, Carrie Walton-Penner, and his son-in-law, Greg Penner, are also joining the team’s new ownership group as minority investors. Mellody Hobson is expected to join as well.

Carrie, 51, and Greg, 52, are “expected to be the top two day-to-day Broncos bosses,” according to a report from KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. They currently live in California but the Penners have lived in Colorado in the past and they will presumably do so again as the team’s new day-to-day owners.

Greg has served as the chairman of Walmart since 2015, which is when Rob retired from that position.

Klis also reported that one or two of Rob Walton’s grandchildren could also be involved in ownership, a sign that the team will be a family business, just like Walmart.

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Rob Walton releases statement after agreeing to buy Broncos

“Having lived and worked in Colorado, we’ve always admired the Broncos. Our enthusiasm has only grown as we’ve learned more about the team, staff and Broncos Country over the last few months.”

Rob Walton, his daughter, Carrie Walton Penner, and his son-in-law, Greg Penner, have agreed to purchase the Denver Broncos, the team announced Tuesday. The Walton-Penner group will pay $4.65 billion, according to multiple reports.

After the news was announced Tuesday evening, Walton released the following statement:

We are thrilled to be selected to move forward with the purchase of the Denver Broncos! Carrie, Greg and I are inspired by the opportunity to steward this great organization in a vibrant community full of opportunity and passionate fans.

Having lived and worked in Colorado, we’ve always admired the Broncos. Our enthusiasm has only grown as we’ve learned more about the team, staff and Broncos Country over the last few months.

We are excited to announce that Mellody Hobson, Co-CEO of Ariel Investments, has agreed to join our ownership group. Beyond her role at Ariel, Mellody is an influential leader in corporate and civic organizations across the nation.

Mellody currently serves as Chair of the Board of Starbucks Corporation and is also a director of JPMorgan Chase. We know she will bring her strategic acumen and leadership perspective to our team.

Thank you to Joe Ellis and the staff of the Broncos for the first-class manner in which they have conducted this sale process. In addition, we thank Hogan Lovells for their guidance and support in this effort.

We look forward to earning the confidence and support of the NFL as we take the next step in this process. When the necessary approval procedures are met, our family is excited to share more with Broncos fans, the organization and the community.

The sale is subject to NFL approval, which could arrive within the next few weeks. Walton will become the team’s new majority owner with Greg and Carrie Penner serving as minority owners.

Denver’s $4.65 billion price will be the most ever paid for a U.S. sports team.

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Broncos release statement on Rob Walton agreeing to buy team

“I am confident that their leadership and support will help this team achieve great things on and off the field,” Joe Ellis said of the new Walton-Penner ownership group.

Rob Walton is leading a group with his daughter and son-in-law that have agreed to purchase the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion, according to multiple reports. The sale is pending NFL approval, but that approval is expected in the coming weeks.

After announcing the sale agreement on Tuesday evening, Broncos president/CEO Joe Ellis released the following statement:

I have enjoyed getting to know Rob Walton, Carrie Walton Penner and Greg Penner throughout this process. Learning more about their background and vision for the Denver Broncos, I am confident that their leadership and support will help this team achieve great things on and off the field.

I sincerely appreciate the cooperation of our football leadership, executive team and staffs at both UCHealth Training Center and Empower Field at Mile High over the last few months and years. We also want to recognize the work of Allen & Company and Proskauer Rose, which have guided us through this process in a timely and efficient manner.

While this purchase and sale agreement is pending approval from the NFL’s finance committee and league ownership, today marks a significant step on the path to an exciting new chapter in Broncos history.

Walton will become the team’s majority owner with Carrie Walton Penner and Greg Penner serving as minority owners. Mellody Hobson is also expected to join the team’s new ownership group.

Denver now has a new head coach, a new quarterback and new owners ahead of the 2022 season (pending approval). It’s an exciting time to be a Broncos fan.

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Peyton Manning could potentially join any group that wins bid for Broncos

Peyton Manning will likely have a choice to join whatever group wins the bid for Broncos, if he wants to.

Four groups competing to buy the Denver Broncos submitted second-round bids for the team on Monday, according to multiple reports.

Those groups are led by Rob Walton, Josh Harris, Jose E. Feliciano and Mat Ishbia. Walton has been considered the presumed favorite to buy the team due to his massive Walmart wealth. If he wants to, Walton could easily out-bid the three other groups.

Walton’s ability to buy the team on his own doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going all in on his own, however. Walton’s son-in-law, Greg Penner, is part of his group, and Walton is apparently open to adding at least one more minority investor, one that Broncos fans will be thrilled to hear about.

“According to multiple sources, all four bidders have spoken to former Broncos’ star quarterback Peyton Manning to gauge his interest in joining their ownership groups as a minority partner or advisor,” KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis tweeted Monday.

So no matter who submits the winning bid to buy the team — whether it’s Walton or someone else — Manning will have an opportunity to be involved, if he would like to be.

There’s been “no word on Manning’s next move,” according to Klis. Manning still lives in the Denver area, though, and he attends the team’s home games. He’s also been helping Russell Wilson, so it seems clear that Manning will remain connected to the team even if he doesn’t take on an official title. 

If he wants to join the next ownership group, though, it appears Manning will have an opportunity to, which is welcomed news in Broncos Country.

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Rob Walton hasn’t won bid for Broncos yet, but report says he will

Forbes says Rob Walton will win the bid for Broncos. While that might happen, the report is premature.

Walmart heir Rob Walton hasn’t won the bidding for the Denver Broncos just yet, but he is the presumed favorite.

Walton is leading one of four groups that are expected to submit second-round bids for Denver’s NFL franchise by this afternoon. The three other groups are led by Josh Harris, Jose E. Feliciano and Mat Ishbia, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis.

Walton’s group, which includes his son-in-law, Greg Penner, is expected to submit a bid worth about $4.5 billion, according to Mike Ozanian of Forbes.com. Ozanian also reported that Walton is set to become the team’s new owner after winning the bid.

With an estimated net worth north of $60 billion, Walton has long been considered the presumed favorite, but multiple outlets — including USA TODAY — indicated Monday that the Forbes report is premature.

Second-round bids “haven’t been submitted yet and therefore reports about one finalist emerging as a favorite are premature,” Parker Gabriel of USA TODAY Sports tweeted Monday morning.

Meanwhile, Broncos kicker Brandon McManus tweeted Monday that the winning bid will be in the range of $5 billion.

Regardless of whether it’s closer to $4.5 billion or $5 billion, the sale is expected to set a new record price for a sports team in the United States.

Once the bids are submitted on Monday afternoon, the process could move along quickly, with a new owner potentially announced later this month.

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5th group bidding to buy the Broncos now known

The fifth group bidding to buy the #Broncos is led by Mat Ishbia, according to 9News.

Bidders, step right up!

The fifth group bidding for the Denver Broncos is now known — Mat Ishbia and his brother, Justin, are attempting to buy the team, according to a report from KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis.

The four other groups are led by Walmart heir Rob Walton, NBA owner Josh Harris, MLB owner Todd Boehly and media mogul Byron Allen. Boehly, however, is in the process of buying Chelsea, a soccer club in England, and it remains to be seen if that will rule him out from buying the Broncos.

Walton is considered the favorite to buy the team given his massive estimated net worth of about $70 billion.

As for Ishbia, he is the president and CEO of UWM Holdings, a mortgage lender based in Michigan. Forbes estimates that he has a net worth of $4.6 billion.

Other candidates could emerge, but these five groups seem to be the big contenders at the moment. Denver’s NFL franchise is expected to be sold for more than $4 billion. The Broncos are hoping to complete a sale this summer ahead of the 2022 NFL season.

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Report: Magic Johnson joining group bidding to buy Broncos

Magic Johnson has joined a Josh Harris-led group that’s bidding to buy the Broncos.

The list of millionaires (and billionaires) interested in buying the Denver Broncos is growing.

Five-time NBA champion Earvin “Magic” Johnson is joining a group led by Josh Harris that’s bidding to buy the Broncos, according to a report from Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico.com. Harris is a co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Johnson is already a co-owner of MLB, MLS and WNBA teams. Interestingly, Johnson is part of the Los Angeles Dodgers ownership group with Todd Boehly, who is also leading a group bidding for Denver’s NFL franchise.

The fact that Johnson’s not joining Boehly’s group is presumably a sign that the ex-NBA star believes the Harris group has a better chance of winning the bid. That might be because Boehly is considered the favorite to buy English soccer club Chelsea. If Boehly’s bid for Chelesea is successful, it might be difficult to also pay a record-breaking price for the Broncos.

All of this would be a moot point, of course, if Walmart heir Rob Walton submits a bid for Denver that no other group could come close to matching. Given his net worth of about $70 billion, Walton is considered the favorite to buy the Broncos.

Five groups — including Walton, Boehly and Harris/Johnson — have advanced to the next stage of bidding for the team. The Broncos are hoping to complete a sale before the start of the 2022 season.

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Walmart heir Rob Walton considered the favorite to buy Broncos

With an estimated net worth of $70.5 billion, Rob Walton could easily outbid any of the other known candidates who are interested in buying the Broncos.

Walmart heir Rob Walton is considered the favorite to become the next owner of the Denver Broncos, according to Josh Kosman of The New York Post.

Walton, 77, is the oldest son of late Walmart founder Sam Walton. With an estimated net worth of $70.5 billion, Walton could easily outbid any of the other known candidates who are interested in buying the team.

The Carolina Panthers were the most recent NFL team to be sold, going for $2.2 billion in 2018, but a sale of the Broncos could double that. Walton is believed to have already submitted a bid north of $4 billion, according to The Post. If successful, that would be the most expensive purchase in U.S. sports history.

Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke — whose family also owns the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Rapids (among other sports teams) — is married to Walton’s cousin, Ann.

Walton became Walmart’s chairman after his father’s death in 1992 and he held that role until retiring in 2015. Walton was born in Oklahoma and he now lives in Arizona.

The Broncos have said they hope to complete a sale of the team before the 2022 NFL season begins in September.

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