Billionaire philanthropist and entrepreneur Laurene Powell Jobs has submitted an offer to buy a significant stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, one of the largest sports and entertainment companies in the U.S.
The deal will see Powell Jobs, who is president of philanthropic and business foundation Emerson Collective, control 20%—the second-largest stake—in Monumental, a $2.5 billion company that owns the NBA’s Wizards, NHL’s Capitals, and WNBA’s Mystics, as well as Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., the Washington Postreported.
“We have an agreement with Laurene Powell Jobs … to join the Monumental Sports & Entertainment ownership group,” Monumental said in a statement.“The process is underway and is pending league approvals.”
Both the NBA and NHL must approve the deal before it can move forward, a decision that could come later this week. CEO and largest-stakeholder Ted Leonsis is expected to stay on.
Powell Jobs, 53, is already one of the wealthiest women in the world with a fortune estimated at $20 billion, much of it in stock in Apple, co-founded by her late husband Steve Jobs. Powell also bought a majority interest in The Atlantic magazine through Emerson Collective from longtime owner David Bradley in July.
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The move would make Powell Jobs one of the most influential female investors in America’s “Big four” sports leagues—baseball, basketball, football, and hockey—which remain dominated by male ownership.