After years of losses and fan apathy, Bob Johnson is putting the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats on the market, according to the Charlotte Observer.After years of losses and fan apathy, Bob Johnson is putting the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats on the market, according to the Charlotte Observer.
Charlotte, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, has retained Sal Galatioto, president of New York-based Galatioto Sports Partners, to seek buyers for the franchise. An attempt to sell the team to minority investor Michael Jordan apparently fell through, leading the Johnson to retain representation.
The sale comes after team officials projected $35 million in losses for the next two seasons, according to previous reports. While it’s not uncommon for major-league sports teams to project losses in this down economy, the financial picture was apparently too much for Johnson, who controls 70 percent of the franchise.
Whether Johnson can sell in this economy is another issue. It sounds like he and his advisers are being realistic about the value of the franchise: they’re placed the value between $325 million and $350 million, a small premium over Johnson’s original $300 million investment for the expansion franchise. And there’s a hidden nugget here: control of Time Warner Cable Arena, a modern facility that could probably be better run under more aggressive management.
mind.
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