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Team owner Mat Ishbia is in “zero” danger of having to sell the Phoenix Suns in the coming months despite his company's recent $452 million quarterly loss, league sources told The Arizona Republic this week.
The source addressed Ishbia's financial issues, saying UWM makes between $100 million and $200 million a quarter, and Ishbia owns nearly 90% of that. And if he ever were in a financial pinch, Ishbia could sell 20% of the Suns to say a private equity company for a billion or so dollars, given the team's value, the source said.
When you add all of those assets up, Mat Ishbia may not be in danger of default. In fact, UWM even released a statement saying that anyone trying to use the Oaktree deal as a way to suggest that Mat’s financial situation with UWM or the Phoenix Suns is threatened is “clearly ignoring the facts,” and that the outstanding balance on Ishbia’s loans “is so low that it could be paid off anytime.” To be clear, that doesn’t mean Ishbia isn’t facing trouble. The Oaktree deal, for instance, is certainly not ideal. In exchange for a $1.5 billion rescue, Oaktree will earn 10% annually in cash. If UWM can’t pay in cash, it goes up to 13%. Oaktree also received 330 million warrants that give it the right to buy shares later on at $2 or $6. If the business turns around and UWM wants to buy Oaktree out, the wholesale mortgage lender must pay a premium, starting at 10% and increasing by 10 percentage points each year after that, reaching 60% at the beginning of the sixth year. And that’s without even mentioning the fact that Oaktree can block changes to UWM’s senior management and the bylaws, put two people on the board, and force UWM to buy it out after seven years. In that scenario, Oaktree would be guaranteed to walk away from the deal with at least $600 million.
Since Mat Ishbia didn’t have to sell a ton of stock in his mortgage company (UWM) to fund the (Phoenix Suns) purchase, he maintained majority control via voting rights (~90%) and the board of directors. The only problem with this strategy is what happens when things go south. Say the stock you pledged starts to drop. 10% in a month. 40% in a year. 75% in five years. Every time that happens, the bank calls you and asks you to put up more collateral. This is a margin call.
Just days before he purchased the Phoenix Suns in 2023, Ishbia secured two loans from JPMorgan. Those loans gave Ishbia the liquidity he needed to complete the $4 billion purchase, but in exchange, Ishbia’s personal holding company had to pledge 805 million shares of UWM stock as collateral. That pledge represented more than half of all UWM's outstanding stock, and the company’s stock price has since fallen more than 70%. In simple terms, that means Ishbia put up roughly $4.6 billion of UWM stock as collateral with JPMorgan, but those shares are now worth just $1.15 billion. So what happens next? When will JPMorgan reach its limit? And if JPMorgan does reach a limit, does that mean Mat Ishbia will have to sell the Phoenix Suns?
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UWM’s stock has fallen about 70% since Ishbia initially pledged his shares as collateral, and people are justified in asking whether this has implications for Ishbia’s broader sports portfolio, including the Phoenix Suns and Mercury and a piece of the Chicago White Sox. The logic is that UWM’s stock has dropped so low that Ishbia has no choice but to repay the JPMorgan loans with cash. And to access that much liquidity in such a short period of time, Ishbia might have to sell equity stakes in his sports teams.
United Wholesale Mortgage Inc., the mortgage lending firm led by Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury owner Mat Ishbia, suspended its quarterly dividend and reported about $452 million in losses for the second quarter of 2026. The net loss in the second quarter follows a net income of about $170 million in the first quarter. United Wholesale Mortgage is one of the largest mortgage lenders in the country. The earnings announcement came the same day the company announced a $2.05 billion capital partnership with Oaktree Capital Management. According to a company announcement, the partnership was created to “fortify UWM’s balance sheet and position the company for continued long-term success.” The proceeds will primarily be used to repay existing debt. The dividend was suspended to “prioritize debt reduction and balance-sheet strength,” according to the announcement.
PHNX Suns: Not only is Mat Ishbia's tenure not threatened, the Ishbia family is INCREASING their stake of ownership in the Phoenix Suns to almost 99%, per a UWM statement to @Bloomberg .
Phoenix Suns NBA team owner and mortgage finance billionaire Mat Ishbia took to YouTube last Monday to deliver an upbeat analysis of the housing market from his company’s office basketball court. Three days later, the head of United Wholesale Mortgage revealed a bad bet tied to falling interest rates dealt it a $603mn loss. UWM, one of America’s two biggest mortgage lenders by originations, also revealed that it had agreed a $2.1bn capital injection led by distressed debt investor Oaktree Capital Management, with Ishbia stumping up at least $150mn.
The hundreds of millions of dollars in annual dividends Ishbia earned from his stake in UWM have also been crucial to investments in the Phoenix Suns, according to a person familiar with its finances. Those quarterly dividends, which remained at 10 cents per share from the time the company went public until they were suspended last week, have proven a sticking point for investors. Oaktree now has the ultimate say over the dividend policy as part of its agreement to inject capital into UWM. A “big part of the problem” at UWM was its large dividends, said Bose George, managing director at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods — of which “more than 80 per cent went to the owner Mat Ishbia”.
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UWM this week filed a lawsuit against Two Harbors in US federal court, seeking $500mn in damages over an alleged breach of the merger contract. Two Harbors did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter. “The market moved against us, and it’s a one-time event that won’t happen again,” Ishbia told investors last week. UWM posted a net loss of $452mn in the second quarter.
Shams Charania: Ishbia confirms to ESPN on extension for Bartelstein, his first hire as owner of Suns/Mercury: “From day one, I knew Josh was the right person to help build the culture and organization that I envisioned in Phoenix - on and off the court. He is my trusted partner in every aspect of our basketball (Suns and Mercury) operations and business side as well. His knowledge of basketball, care for our players and the strong relationships he has across the NBA and WNBA have been invaluable in building our success and will continue to shape our future. His leadership has elevated our entire organization. “He is one of the best CEO’s in all of sports, and happens to be one of the youngest too, and I’m excited to keep working next to Josh as we continue to build on our success.”
John Gambadoro: Mat Ishbia told @BurnsAndGambo yesterday that he expects Dillon Brooks, who is eligible for a 4-year extension, to be in Phoenix long term and that they have to figure out a way to keep him. Said he see's him as part of a championship team in Phoenix over the next 3-4 years.