RAJ Sports Sues Cherng Family Over Trail Blazers Sale: What We Know
The Bhathal family is attempting to keep the Cherng family from being a part of Tom Dundon's group that has agreed to buy the team.
Two weeks after the Paul G. Allen Estate announced a formal agreement to sell the Trail Blazers to a group led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon, an effort is underway that could disrupt part of the sale.
As first reported by Law360, RAJ Sports, the company under which the Bhathal family owns the NWSL's Portland Thorns, the WNBA's incoming Portland Fire expansion team and a minority stake in the NBA's Sacramento Kings, filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery on Monday attempting to block the Cherng Family Trust from being involved with Dundon's bid for the team, citing breach of a confidentiality agreement.
The Cherng family, founders of the Chinese fast-food restaurant chain Panda Express, were announced as a partner in Dundon's bid on Sept. 12. Other known partners in the bid include Marc Zahr, the co-president of the private equity firm Blue Owl Capital, and Sheel Tyle, the founder and CEO of the private equity firm Global Collective. According to Forbes, the Cherngs have an estimated net worth of $7.5 billion.
A spokesperson for the Blazers deferred to the Allen estate, who declined to comment because they are not party to the lawsuit. The NBA league office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Hurricanes also did not respond to an email requesting comment from Dundon, nor did a spokesperson for Panda Restaurant Group requesting comment from the Cherngs. RAJ Sports declined to comment, citing deference to the legal process.
Right now, the majority of the documents related to the lawsuit are under seal; it is expected in the coming days some of that information will become public. When that happens, there will be more clarity on what exactly the lawsuit is over and how it could ultimately play out. But here's an early attempt to sort through the questions around it.
