Incoming Trail Blazers’ owner tells court his group can afford team without disputed investor

Next week, a Delaware judge will consider whether to halt a member of the pending Portland Trailblazers’ ownership group from participating in the sale.

It stems from a legal fight started last month when the owners of two other professional sports franchises in Portland accused the founders of Panda Express of ditching their bid for the Blazers at the last minute.

The Blazers are currently owned by a trust led by Jody Allen, the sister of the late Paul Allen, who owned the team from 1988 until his death in 2018. The Trust recently agreed to accept an ownership bid from a group led by Tom Dundon, the owner of the NHL Carolina Hurricanes.

Raj Sports, the investment firm run by siblings Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal that owns Portland’s NWSL and incoming WNBA teams, claims it was putting together a bid to buy the city’s most valuable franchise. The Cherng family was set to be the largest investor in that bid, according to the complaint filed in September, before instead deciding to join Dundon’s ownership group.

Raj Sports is suing the Cherng family for breaking a contract and wrongfully interfering with a business transaction. The case is filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, which often hears business disputes because of the number of companies incorporated in the state.

Raj Sports is seeking a temporary restraining order on the Cherngs’ involvement in the sale and it wants the court to expedite the case. That hearing is set for Oct. 15, according to the court’s docket.

Meanwhile, Dundon filed an affidavit with the court on Tuesday saying the sale will continue, even if the fast food chain’s founders are barred from joining his group.

“At present, the Dundon Group is expecting to close the acquisition of the Trail Blazers without needing funding from the Cherngs, CFT, or Copernicus,” Dundon wrote, referring to the full list of defendants, which includes the Cherng Family Trust and limited liability corporation called Copernicus.

Dundon wrote the sale is expected to close next March and is contingent on approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors.

An investment advisor to the Cherng Family Trust (CFT), Warren Woo, filed a declaration in opposition to the restraining order. The statement largely backs Dundon’s assertion and his effort to buy the Blazers.

Woo wrote that since late August he has been working with the Cherng Family Trust and the Tom Dundon ownership group.

“It is my understanding that the Dundon Group was the only viable bidder for the Trail Blazers,” Woo wrote in the declaration, “and the Dundon Group has the funding it needs to close the purchase of the Trail Blazers franchise without the funding or involvement of the Cherngs or CFT.”