By now, you’ve heard of William Chisholm, the lifelong Celtics fan who agreed to purchase the team from the Grousbeck family in mid-March. But, although Chisholm has emerged as the face of the incoming ownership group, he’s far from the only one investing resources in the Celtics.
Aditya Mittal, the CEO of steel giant ArcelorMittal, has agreed to invest $1 billion into a group purchase of the Boston Celtics, Sportico reported Thursday. Mittal is expected to be the second-biggest stakeholder in the ownership group.
The top stakeholder remains Chisholm, whose group reached a deal to purchase the team in March for an unprecedented $6.1 billion — it’s the most expensive sale for a sports franchise in North America.
At the time, the agreement was not fully financed, though Chisholm’s commitment to purchasing the team was evident.
“He seems like a great person and seems super excited about the Cs,” Brad Stevens said soon after the sale was announced. “He’s always been a big fan.”
Over the past few months, Chisholm and his group have gotten closer to the agreed-upon price. In addition to Mittal’s $1 billion commitment, private equity giant Sixth Street, which also owns a stake in the San Antonio Spurs, is expected to own around 12.5% of the Celtics.
Who is Aditya Mittal?
Aditya Mittal is a member of one of India’s wealthiest families and could become the second-largest Celtics stakeholder, after Chisholm. He lives in London and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, per Sportico.
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He is the son of Lakshmi Mittal, executive chairman of ArcelorMittal, the largest steel and mining company in the world. The company generates around $68 billion in revenue. Bloomberg reported that his net worth is $23.9 billion.
“Aditya has long been a huge supporter of the Boston Celtics,” a spokesperson said in an email to Sportico. “When Wyc and Bill approached Aditya, he saw it as a tremendous opportunity to get involved with this incredible team. Obviously he remains super focused on ArcelorMittal and also very much looks forward to supporting the team further.”
The investment group also includes Rob Hale, a current Celtics investor, and Bruce A. Beal Jr., president of Related Companies. Details around the rest of the ownership group have yet to be reported.
