Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores is set to buy a 27% stake of the Chargers, according to a person not authorized to speak publicly because of the confidential nature of the sale, resolving a long-running dispute between Dea Spanos Berberian and her siblings, including the Chargers controlling owner Dean Spanos.
Gores will have no control or path to control of the organization and will not influence the day-to-day operations of the team. He is instead buying Spanos Berberian’s share of the franchise after years of litigation that began in 2021.
After alleging her brother’s mismanagement of the team led to debt that jeopardized the family’s wealth, Spanos Berberian hoped to force a sale of the team through a petition filed by attorney Adam Streisand. He represented Jeanie Buss in her fight to gain control of the Lakers from her brothers, and also Steve Ballmer in the proceeding that forced Donald Sterling to sell the Clippers.
As the litigation continued, Spanos Berberian instead shifted her focus to leaving the ownership group.
The price for the share has not been revealed. The sale still must be approved by the league owners next month at a regularly scheduled quarterly meeting in Atlanta on Oct. 15-16.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
