https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...clays-center-said-to-be-dumping-the-islanders "The arena, which is already home to the NBA’s Nets and one of the world’s top-grossing concert venues, would make more money without the National Hockey League team, according to people familiar with the facility’s financials. What’s more, the Barclays-Islanders agreement is unusual, in that the arena pays the team an average of $53.5 million a year in exchange for control of business operations, which includes revenue from ticket and suite sales."
Mikhail Prokhorov Reportedly Hoped for $2 Billion Nets Sale Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov set a $2 billion price tag on the team when initially shopping it around to interested parties. Josh Kosman of the New York Post reported "several" buyers have expressed interest, though no price has been agreed to nor is any sale believed to be imminent. The Nets are reportedly looking for a Chinese buyer for the franchise. The Nets' executive vice president of global partnerships, Mike Zavodsky, reportedly had 20 meetings in China last month in hopes of gauging interest for a potential sale. ___________________ NY Post: There’s no official sale book bouncing around yet when it comes to the Brooklyn Nets, but already the investment bank Allen & Co. has received several expressions of interest, The Post has learned. The basketball team owned by billionaire Russian Mikhail Prokhorov hoped to fetch around $2 billion, but we hear one interested party has been trying to box out others in the sale process. A source told On the Money that Alibaba Executive Vice Chairman Joe Tsai has expressed an interest in the team, though reps for his family office, Blue Pool, deny it. Reports suggest the Nets want to find a Chinese backer — not surprising given the success of Yao Ming with the Houston Rockets, which are also for sale. The Post’s Josh Kosman reported last month that Mike Zavodsky, the Nets’ executive VP of global partnerships, was in China with 20 meetings lined up. The majority stake sale comes after a failed attempt to sell a minority interest in the team. Looks like the Nets could end up moving from Russian ownership to Chinese — and they still won’t have any red in their uniforms.
Oh look another Le$ wannabe. The Godfather will get his $2 billion price tag for the Rockets. Russian micky mouse, not so much.
http://nypost.com/2017/10/05/prokhorov-inches-closer-to-selling-49-percent-stake-in-the-nets/ Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is getting closer to selling the Brooklyn Nets, sources told The Post. There are multiple suitors late in the process to buy a 49-percent stake in the struggling NBA team, along with the right to buy a larger stake and become the controlling owner in three years, sources told The Post. The sale does not include Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Prokhorov is seeking a better than $2 billion valuation for the team, sources said. Reuters reported Thursday that Alibaba executive Joseph Tsai, who is worth nearly $12 billion, was in advanced talks to buy a stake in the Nets. Tsai denied the story. The Post was the first to report on Aug. 6 that Tsai was interested in the Nets, but could not learn whether he was still in talks. The Nets are a few months into what became a new sales process after Prokhorov gave up on just selling a minority stake without a clear path to control, a source said. A Nets spokeswoman declined to comment.
I bet there are plenty of jealous Les wannabes right now. The next 3-4 years might represent a "sell high" opportunity for NBA owners that may never happen again.
Joseph Tsai, the executive vice chairman and co-founder of Chinese e-commerce goliath Alibaba, has reached an agreement in principle to purchase a 49 percent minority stake in the Brooklyn Nets that includes the option to acquire controlling interest of the NBA franchise in several years, league sources told ESPN. The purchase price will be based upon a $2.3 billion valuation of the team, league sources said. Mikhail Prokhorov will remain principal and operating owner of the Nets for an additional four years, with a presumption that he will sell his majority stake upon the triggering of Tsai's option, league sources said. Tsai, 53, will not oversee any basketball or business operations as a minority partner in the team, responsibilities that will stay with Prokhorov and his management team until he sells his majority stake, league sources said. The deal excludes the acquisition of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, sources said. Prokhorov owns a majority share of the arena, and it's expected that a new long-term lease for the Nets will be negotiated in the near future, league sources said. Without Barclays Center, the deal represents another big bet on the future of the NBA -- and on the power of Brooklyn as a market. The Nets on their own have been huge money-losers since they moved to Brooklyn, according to internal league financial documents obtained by ESPN. The Nets lost $144 million on basketball-related activities in 2013-14, the largest such figure in the league that season by more than $100 million. Crippling luxury tax payments for a veteran-laden roster contributed to that, but the losses have sustained. Based on the league's operating income figures, Brooklyn lost almost $23.5 million last season, the second-largest loss among all teams, ahead of only the Detroit Pistons. Brooklyn earned only about $20 million from its local TV deal, and pulled in $36 million in net local revenue last season -- also the lowest such figure in the league. ...
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...chase-49-percent-minority-stake-brooklyn-nets "Tsai was born in Taiwan, was educated at Yale University -- both undergrad and law school -- and he holds a Canadian citizenship. Tsai has a rich personal history with athletics, including his days as a high school lacrosse and football player at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. Tsai was an avid pickup basketball player at Yale and has been a significant NBA fan for years. His business career has taken him from New York to Asia through the past three decades."
lulz, Alibaba said this was Fake News just 3 weeks ago Alibaba denies Tsai in deal talks with NBA's Brooklyn Nets “This is false,” Alibaba spokeswoman Jennifer Kuperman said. “Joe Tsai has never talked to the seller and he is not purchasing any stake in the Brooklyn Nets.”
Joe played lacrosse in high school...and his high school had a very strong lacrosse program. He played football there, too...but the football program there sucked.