<article>Lizhang Jiang is buying 5 percent of the <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Minnesota+Timberwolves">Minnesota Timberwolves</a>, making the Shanghai investor the first Chinese owner of a <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=National+Basketball+Association">National Basketball Association</a> team, according to a person familiar with the transaction.</article>

Lizhang Jiang is buying 5 percent of the <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Minnesota+Timberwolves">Minnesota Timberwolves</a>, making the Shanghai investor the first Chinese owner of a <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=National+Basketball+Association">National Basketball Association</a> team, according to a person familiar with the transaction.
Real estate investor Meyer Orbach will buy about 10 percent of the franchise. Control of the team will remain with Minnesota billionaire Glen Taylor, who bought the team in 1994.
The Timberwolves are worth worth $720 million, 27th in the 30-team league, according to Forbes. The team finished 29-53 this past season, 13th in the Western Conference.
The person was granted anonymity because the transaction isn’t complete. Timberwolves spokesman Brad Ruiter said the club would comment on investors this week. Jiang’s investment was first reported by the Associated Press.
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Granada Football</h3>
Jiang is the general manager of Shanghai Double-Edged Sports, a sports marketing company, according to his verified account on Weibo, a Twitter-like service. Calls to the company and messages sent to Jiang’s Weibo account weren’t answered.
Earlier this month, Jiang was reported to have taken a controlling stake in Granada-based Spanish football club Granada Club de Fútbol. Jiang became the new owner of the club after paying 37 million euros ($41 million) to Italian businessman Gino Pozzo, the Spanish news agency EFE reported June 15.
The NBA has spent decades cultivating fans in China, and a Chinese owner might help the team and league win fans and sell sponsorships to Chinese companies. When Chinese player Yao Ming played for the Houston Rockets from 2002 to 2011, the popularity of the NBA surged in China and in other parts of Asia.
Orbach is chief executive officer of the Orbach Group, which owns properties in the New York area
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<h4 style="text-align: justify;">Bloomberg</h4>

Lizhang Jiang is buying 5% of the Minnesota Timberwolves, making the Shanghai investor the first Chinese owner of a NBA team

Timberwolves stake sale said to bring first China NBA owner

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