Valuation Fight at Center of Bitter Feud
Quinn Emanuel’s Michael Carlinsky, counsel for the minority owners, said the valuation used in the capital call—$10 million per unit—was “artificially low” and had no relation to Ishbia’s own 2025 analysis valuing the franchise at $7 billion or more.
Carlinsky argued that Ishbia’s failure to fund under his own capital call terms should now leave his ownership stake vulnerable to drastic dilution—from 83.2% to 32.7%.
A Suns spokesperson dismissed the claims as “ridiculous,” saying the minority owners are trying to avoid investing while orchestrating a media spectacle to pressure a lucrative buyout.
Legal Teams in the Ring
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For the majority owner:
Kevin Shannon and Jaclyn Levy (Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP)
William Savitt, Randall Jackson, Steven Winter (Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz)
David Marroso, Matthew Close (O’Melveny & Myers LLP) -
For the minority owners:
Michael A. Barlow, Michael B. Carlinsky, Neil T. Phillips (Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP)
