Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores is expected to buy a 27% stake in the Chargers, two people familiar with the deal told The Times on Friday. They spoke on the condition that their names not be used because the deal is confidential.

The transaction will resolve a long-running dispute between Dea Spanos Berberian and her siblings – including Chargers controlling owner Dean Spanos – that ended in court in April 2021.

Gores and his wife, Holly, are buying Spanos Berberian’s share of the franchise, people familiar with the transaction said, but he will not control or have the ability to control the organization, nor will he have any influence over its day-to-day operations the team. Dean Spanos retains full control of the franchise as he and his siblings Michael Spanos and Alexis Spanos Ruhl own approximately 69% of the Chargers.

While Spanos Berberian claimed that her brother’s poor management of the team resulted in debts that threatened the family’s fortunes, she hoped to force a sale of the team through a petition filed by attorney Adam Streisand. He previously represented Jeanie Buss in her battle for control of the Lakers from her brothers and also Steve Ballmer in the lawsuit that forced Donald Sterling to sell the Clippers.

As the litigation continued, the person familiar with the transaction said, Spanos Berberian instead shifted its focus to exiting the ownership group.

Gores will purchase Spanos Berberian’s 24% stake and an additional 3% of the franchise – 1% each from shares owned by Dean Spanos, Alexis Spanos Ruhl and Michael Spanos – for estate planning purposes.

The price of Gores’ share of the franchise is unknown, although the Chargers are worth around $5.38 billion, according to average figures from Forbes, Sportico and CNBC.

The sale still needs to be approved by NFL owners next month at a regularly scheduled quarterly meeting on Oct. 15 and 16 in Atlanta.

Gores, whose net worth is estimated by Bloomberg at $11.8 billion, is the founder of Platinum Equity. He and the Beverly Hills-based private equity firm purchased the Pistons in 2011 before becoming sole owner of the NBA team in 2015. The Chargers purchase was not related to PE, according to the Associated Press.