NBA champions Boston Celtics in record $6.1bn sale

A group led by American businessman William Chisholm has agreed to buy iconic basketball team Boston Celtics for a record $6.1bn (£4.70bn).

The amount will represent the highest ever paid for a North American sports franchise, eclipsing the $6.05bn purchase of the NFL's Washington Commanders in 2023, which due to the exchange rate to sterling at the time equated to £4.8bn.

It also topped the $4bn (£3.3bn) sale of another NBA side, the Phoenix Suns, in 2022.

Last year, Forbes ranked the Celtics - who are owned by the Grousbeck family and partner Steve Pagliuca - as the fourth-most valuable NBA team at $6bn (£4.62bn), with the Golden State Warriors first at an estimated $8.8bn (£6.7bn).

Chisholm, the co-founder and managing partner of the California-based private equity firm Symphony Technology Group, is from the Boston area and a lifelong fan of the Celtics, who won a record 18th NBA championship last year when beating the Dallas Mavericks.

"Growing up on the North Shore and attending college in New England, I have been a die-hard Celtics fan my entire life," he said.

"I understand how important the Celtics are to the city of Boston – the role the team plays in the community is different than any other city in the country.

"I also understand that there is a responsibility as a leader of the organisation to the people of Boston, and I am up for this challenge."

Wyc Grousbeck and the current ownership group purchased the Celtics for $360m (277m) in 2002. Grousbeck is set to remain in his role as the chief executive and governor until the end of the 2027-2028 season, before Chisholm takes control of team operations.