Joshua Kushner and Brandon Arrindell have purchased separate minority stakes in the Grizzlies, league sources tell Geoff Calkins and Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian. A team spokesperson has confirmed the news to The Daily Memphian, while Kevin Draper and Marc Stein of the New York Times report that Kushner’s transaction was finalized in February.
Kushner, the founder of venture capital investment firm Thrive Capital, is the brother of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, though he’s a lifelong Democrat who said he voted against Trump, per The Times’ report. Neither Jared nor his father Charles is involved in Joshua’s investment in the Grizzlies, Draper and Stein add.
According to Calkins and Herrington, Arrindell is a senior analyst and principal at Southeastern Asset Management, a local investment management firm which boasts another Grizzlies minority owner – Staley Cates – as its vice-chairman.
It’s not clear how much of the team the Grizzlies’ new minority shareholders will control. Per the Daily Memphian’s report, a stake of 10% or more would trigger a review by the NBA’s Board of Governors, and that didn’t happen. A league source tells Calkins and Harrington that Kushner’s and Arrindell’s new shares are of “comparable though perhaps not equal” value.
Grizzlies controlling owner Robert Pera reached a deal about a year ago to buy out Steve Kaplan and Daniel Straus, who owned approximately 28% of the team at that time. It seems likely that the portion of the franchise sold to Kushner and Arrindell came out of those shares.