When will the Boston Celtics be sold? Wyc Grousbeck provides an update on succession plan

BOSTON — The majority ownership group of the Celtics, led by Wyc Grousbeck, recently announced plans to sell the team, just days after Boston held a rolling rally in celebration of the franchise’s long-awaited Banner 18.

“The controlling family of the ownership group, after considerable thought and internal discussion, has decided to sell the team for estate and family planning considerations,” a statement issued on July 1 by Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C. read.

Grousbeck commented on the sale of the team for the first time Monday during an appearance on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”

Grousbeck, who has served as the governor of the team, made it a point to clarify in the interview that he’s not the principal owner of Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C.

“I want to just clarify, it’s not my majority stake. The control of the team is owned by my family, so it’s a family that I belong to and then I have the Celtics family I also belong to, so there’s an intersection and there’s an involvement,” Grousbeck explained. “The family, we’ve been involved for 22 years, so there’s been discussions and thoughts about estate planning and family planning.”

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Grousbeck also provided an update on the timeline to sell the historic and decorated franchise.

“The expectation is to sell the time in two parts with 51 percent going fairly soon, 49 percent then closing in second closing. That’s the expectation in 2028,” Grousbeck said. “I’m planning or expecting to stay on until 2028. We’re going to hire bankers and advisers. This is going to be quite the bidding process.”

Grousbeck didn’t mention the names of any potential buyers in the CNBC interview.

He led the group that bought the Celtics for $360 million in 2002. The team is now worth $4.7 billion, according to Forbes.

The Celtics won their 18th title in franchise history in June, defeating the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals in five games.

“These guys go in the history books and they go in the record books,” Grousbeck told Boston 25 Sports Director Butch Stearns as the team celebrated the victory. “Best offense ever, great defense. People don’t understand -- to play defense like that is exhausting. To then have the best offense ever after that defense is world-class and we are world-class.”

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