Ben Navarro, the founder and chief executive of Sherman Financial Group, one of the nation’s largest debt-buying companies, appears to no longer be in the running to buy the National Football League’s Carolina Panthers, according to a published report.
Navarro had been considered to be a frontrunner to buy the team. His interest in purchasing the franchise was first published back in February.
It was unclear what exactly had led Navarro to fall out of the running to buy the team in favor of David Tepper, a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Potential owners must put up 30% of the purchase price of the team. The Panthers are worth $2.3 billion, according to Forbes magazine. Tepper, the founder of global hedge fund firm Appaloosa Management, has a net worth is pegged at $11 billion, according to the report.
The Panthers were put up for sale last December after allegations of sexual harassment and workplace sexual and racial misconduct allegations were made toward founder Jerry Richardson.
An announcement about the sale of the team could come as early as next week, according to the report.
From the report:
According to a source, it became clear to Navarro over the past two days that “the process was not moving in his favor.”
“Therefore, there’s a reality he’s out of the process,” the source added.
