Celtics to be sold to private equity firm co-founder Bill Chisholm for record $6.1 billion
The Celtics reportedly found their next owner.
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After months of uncertainty, the Boston Celtics found a new owner. The team's current ownership group, the Grousbeck family, has agreed to sell the franchise to a group led by Bill Chisholm, co-founder of Symphony Technology Group, per ESPN's Shams Charania.
The team will reportedly be bought for $6.1 billion, a record for a North American sports franchise.
BREAKING: Bill Chisholm, managing partner at Symphony Technology Group, has agreed to purchase the Boston Celtics from the Grousbeck family for a valuation for $6.1 billion, sources tell ESPN. This now is the largest sale for a sports franchise in North America. pic.twitter.com/iPphqSQswe— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 20, 2025
The Washington Commanders held the previous record after being sold to Josh Harris for $6.05 billion in 2023.
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The sale was confirmed by Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck, who praised Chisholm as a "terrific person and a true Celtics fan," in a statement Thursday, per Business Wire.
“Bill is a terrific person and a true Celtics fan, born and raised here in the Boston area,” Grousbeck said. “His love for the team and the city of Boston, along with his chemistry with the rest of the Celtics leadership, make him a natural choice to be the next Governor and controlling owner of the team. I know he appreciates the importance of the Celtics and burns with a passion to win on the court while being totally committed to the community. Quite simply, he wants to be a great owner. He has asked me to run the team as CEO and Governor for the first three years, and stay on as his partner, and I am glad to do so.”
In that same statement, Chisholm called himself a "die-hard Celtics fan," and said he was up to the challenge of leading the franchise.
With Grousbeck confirming the sale, Chisholm will need approval from the NBA's Board of Governors before he takes over as the team's owner.
The news comes nine months after Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck announced he was looking to sell the team. Grousbeck made that announcement just weeks after the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks to win the 2024 NBA Finals.
Grousbeck, with the assistance of an investment group, purchased the team for $360 million in 2002. Under his guidance, the Celtics won two championships and appeared in the NBA Finals four times. As of October 2024, Forbes valued the franchise at $6 billion, the highest total among all NBA teams. That valuation wasn't far off based on Thursday's reported agreement.
Who is new Celtics owner Bill Chisholm?
Chisholm co-founded Symphony Technology Group in 2002 and serves as its managing partner and chief investment officer. Symphony Technology Group is a private equity firm that manages "data, software and analytics ventures," per its website.
Prior to co-founding the business, Chisholm worked at The Valent Group, a risk-management company; Bain & Company, a consulting firm; and PaineWebber, Inc., a bank and stock brokerage firm.
Chisholm received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and his MBA from The Wharton School.
Chisholm's group was one of at least four in the running to buy the Celtics, per Sportico. Those groups were reportedly required to submit revised offers for the Celtics on March 14. The Grousbeck family didn't waste much time debating those offers, opting to go with Chisholm's group less than a week after that deadline.
