Several groups that have expressed an interest in purchasing the Brooklyn Nets, according to a report from The New York Post.
The Post recently reported that there has been apparent interest in the Nets, who are currently owned by billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. Though no official sale book has been circulated, it was stated that the investment bank Allen & CO has “received several expressions of interest” in the franchise.
Prokhorov purchased a majority stake in the then New Jersey Nets in 2010, a few years before the Nets debuted at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. He had reportedly been seeking to sell a minority stake in the team, but the Post indicates that he has hoped for a price of around $2 billion if the franchise is to be flipped. More from The New York Post:
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.
Though it is not often than NBA teams come on the market, there has been word of another potential sale in recent weeks. Last month, it was revealed that longtime Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander has put his team on the market, and the Rockets’ expanded global presence over the years could put it in play as an international investment.
