Alex Rodriguez finalizing deal to become part owner of NBA's Timberwolves

Former Major League Baseball star Alex Rodriguez and tech billionaire Marc Lore have reached an agreement to buy the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx from longtime owner Glen Taylor, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports.

The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly until the deal is official.

The two sides are working toward finalizing the deal with official paperwork.

On April 10, Rodriguez and Lore signed an exclusive letter of intent to purchase the teams from Taylor in a 30-day window. The window expired on May 10, but the two sides continued to negotiate.

Rodriguez and Lore would share a 50-50 stake in the deal.

Taylor purchased the Timberwolves in 1994 for nearly $90 million and has explored selling the team multiple times in recent years only to decide he still wanted to own the team or he couldn't find the right buyer. Taylor, 79, reopened his interest in selling the team before the start of 2020-21 season. He is adamant the teams remain in Minneapolis.

Rodriguez, who earned more than $400 million as a player and even more as an investor, had interest in buying the New York Mets, but lost out to billionaire Steve Cohen. Lore was one of Rodriguez's partner in that effort, too. Lore made his fortune in e-commerce with Diapers.com, Jet.com and Walmart.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alex Rodriguez finalizing deal to become part owner of NBA's Timberwolves