Mat Ishbia agrees to buy Suns, Mercury for $4 billion

NEW YORK: Mortgage executive Mat Ishbia has agreed in principle to buy a majority stake of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury from the embattled owner Robert Sarver for $4 billion, the sides announced Tuesday.

The sale is expected to take several weeks to complete. Ishbia — who is chairman, president and chief executive of United Wholesale Mortgage, which bills itself as the nation’s largest mortgage lender — will be subjected to a vetting process by the NBA, and once that is complete, the league’s board of governors will have to approve the sale.