The Waltons, heirs to the Walmart fortune and the richest family in the United States, won the bid to buy the Denver Broncos football team for $4.65 billion, the most expensive deal for a sports franchise in the United States. Any part of the world.
The Broncos announced that they had reached a sale agreement with the Walton-Penner ownership group led by Rob Walton, his daughter, Carrie Walton Penner, and her husband, Greg Penner. Terms of the sale were not disclosed, but Kusa-TV in Denver reported it was for $4.65 billion.
The price far exceeds the $3.1 billion sale last month of Chelsea, one of European soccer’s blue-ribbon teams, to an American-led consortium headed by Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly.
Boehly was also reportedly among the investors with one of the five finalists who were invited to bid for the Broncos before Monday’s deadline.
The agreement for the Walmart-Penner group to buy the franchise from the Pat Bowlen Trust must be approved by the NFL, but that is considered a formality.
“We are thrilled to have been selected to move forward with the purchase of the Denver Broncos! Carrie, Greg and I are inspired by the opportunity to run this great organization in a vibrant community full of opportunities and passionate fans,” said Rob Walton in a statement.
Pat Bowlen, the team’s former owner, passed away in 2019, and his son the Bowlen Trust led the franchise. In February he announced that he would put it up for sale.
The agreement for the Walmart-Penner group to buy the franchise from the Pat Bowlen Trust must be approved by the NFL, but that is considered a formality.
