Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Here's How Mat Ishbia Bought the Phoenix Suns

Originally posted on FanNation Inside The Suns
By Donnie Druin | Last updated 9/5/23

Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia has been nothing short of heralded since arriving on the scene.

The previous ownership - on top of everything off the court - refused to spend serious money to help the Suns compete. For years, Phoenix was viewed as a relatively cheap team that simply would not open the wallet to help forge a winner in a modern NBA where it's nearly necessary.

Though the keyword is nearly (Phoenix themselves almost won the 2021 NBA Finals without throwing themselves deep into the luxury tax), Ishbia took over the reigns here in the Valley and immediately made his impact felt by acquiring Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets.

He further pushed the Suns into the second apron of the luxury tax by trading for Bradley Beal in the summer. Ishbia - along with making other improvements - has helped bolster the roster seemingly overnight with his deep pockets and has earned the admiration of fans in the desert.

Ishbia purchased the team for $4 billion back in the winter, and now Bloomberg has revealed what he did to secure the buying power:

Here's How Mat Ishbia Bought the Phoenix Suns

"Mat Ishbia, the new owner of the Phoenix Suns, pledged more than half of mortgage giant UWM Holdings Corp.’s outstanding shares to secure loans before buying the NBA team for a record $4 billion," said author Tom Maloney.

"Ishbia, UWM’s chairman and chief executive officer, pledged stock he controls currently worth about $4.6 billion to back two loans that were finalized days before his purchase of the Suns was approved.

"He holds his stake through SFS Holding Corp., which owns 94% of UWM’s outstanding stock and pledged the shares, according to the firm’s 2023 proxy statement. Other investors in SFS include his brother Justin, managing partner of Shore Capital who bought a stake in the team alongside Mat.

"SFS pledged 805 million shares to secure the two loans, slightly more than half of UWM’s outstanding stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. was the lender on both deals, according to public records. The loan sizes weren’t disclosed."

Bloomberg says this isn't the first time an executive of a publicly traded company used shares as collateral, as Elon Musk and a select group of others have also done so in the past.

This article first appeared on FanNation Inside The Suns and was syndicated with permission.

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