A deal could be done by the end of the month making Soon-Shiong the team's biggest stakeholderNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
Lakers investor Patrick Soon-Shiong is "close to a deal" to invest in DC United that "would value the club" at an MLS-record $500M, according to a source cited by Scott Soshnick of BLOOMBERG NEWS. The source said that Soon-Shiong and DC United Managing General Partner & CEO Jason Levien are "buying the stake" held by General Partner Erick Thohir. The deal "should be done by the end of the month and would make Soon-Shiong the biggest stakeholder." Levien, who would also increase his stake, "will remain" in his other roles with the club. The pair "may seek additional investors in the future" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 4/9). In DC, Steven Goff notes Thohir owns 78% of the team, but has been "seeking to divest for more than a year." A source said that while Levien and Soon-Shiong "have been in regular contact, the new group is likely to have several investors and might still include Thohir." Levien’s 22% stake is "likely to rise to a point where, in a diversified group, he might become the largest shareholder." Thohir has been the "money man behind United while Levien has served as the face of the investment group." Thohir lives in Indonesia, and sources said that over time, his interest in DC United "waned and, because of the distance from home, he rarely visits the team" (WASHINGTON POST, 4/10).
