New Lawsuit Could Interfere With Trail Blazers Sale

A new lawsuit could disrupt the sale of the Portland Trail Blazers to a group of investors led by Texas businessman Tom Dundon, according to a report published by Law360.

The lawsuit, filed Monday by RAJ Sports Holding LLC in Delaware, seeks to prevent the founders of Panda Express from joining Dundon’s investment group to purchase the Trail Blazers.

Brother and sister duo Alex Bhathal and Lisa Bhathal Merage own the Portland Thorns and the newly founded Portland Fire of the WNBA.

The siblings allege that Andrew and Peggy Cherng – the investment partners with Dundon – violated a July 24 confidentiality agreement during the sales process.

Dundon, RAJ Sports Fought For Control Of Trail Blazers

According to Matthew Kish of The Oregonian, an unnamed source reported bitterness between the Bhathals and Dundon’s group throughout the process.

“On Aug. 14, Dundon’s bid to buy the Blazers became public even though a purchase agreement had not yet been signed. After that moment, insiders described a fierce battle for control of the team between Dundon and RAJ Sports,” Kish wrote.

“One source described it as ‘hand-to-hand combat’ behind the scenes as RAJ worked, multiple sources told The Oregonian/OregonLive, to leapfrog Dundon even after the NHL team owner had apparently become the Allen estate’s preferred buyer.

“That race was seemingly settled nearly a month later, on Sept. 12, when the estate released a statement saying that it had entered a ‘formal sale agreement’ with Dundon, adding that he would be joined not just by Marc Zahr, CEO of Blue Owl Capital, and Sheel Tyle, the Portland-based CEO of Collective Global, as investors, but also by the Cherng Family Trust.”

It’s unclear what impact the lawsuit will have on the sale of the Blazers.

Dundon, Investment Group Purchased Blazers For $4.25 Billion

In August, Dundon and his investment group purchased the Blazers for $4.25 billion.

According to a statement from Allen Family Philanthropies, Dundon’s group includes Portland-based Sheel Tyle, the co-founder of investment firm Collective Global; Marc Zahr, co-president of Blue Owl Capital; and the Cherng Family Trust, the family office and investment firm of the co-founders of Panda Express.

On Sept. 12, Paul Allen’s estate formally reached an agreement to sell the Trail Blazers to Dundon’s group of investors. A target date of March 31, 2026, has been set for the close of the deal, per The Athletic’s Jason Quick.

The current deal remains tentative until the NBA Board of Governors can ratify the agreement.

If the sale is approved by the scheduled closing date of March 31, the new owners will take over with six games remaining in the 2025-26 season.