MIAMI (AFP) — Former baseball star Alex Rodriguez and businessman Marc Lore are poised to complete the purchase of the National Basketball Association's Minnesota Timberwolves by a New Year's Eve deadline, ESPN reported on Thursday.

The pair began the process of buying the team in installments from current owner Glen Taylor in 2021 but are now expected to take an additional 40 percent stake in the team which will take them to 80 percent ownership.

The deal was valued at $1.5 billion when the staged takeover was announced in 2021.

The deal also includes the purchase of the four-time Women's NBA champions the Minnesota Lynx from Taylor, 80, who purchased the team in 1994.

Taylor was reported to have paid $488 million for the team in a deal which was aimed at stopping the franchise being moved to New Orleans.

The Timberwolves are currently top of the Western Conference with a 22-7 record.

Rodriguez won the World Series in 2009 with the New York Yankees and was a 14-time All Star and three-time American League Most Valuable Player.