Forest City Ratner has a little more time to find its way out of the Nets.
Per a forbearance pact signed in 2013, the real estate development company and former majority/current minority owner of the Nets franchise had until today (August 12) to sell its shares in the Nets or pay: either $31.3 million to Mikhail Prokhorov’s ONEXIM Group, or in a dilution of its shares in the Nets from 20 percent to 8 percent.
But the two sides today agreed to extend that August 12th deadline to September 8th, giving FCR a little more time to find a buyer, according to Bloomberg News Sports Business journalist Scott Soshnick.
Nets Sports & Entertainment, Onexim extend forbearance pact through Sept. 8 #sportsbiz #NBA #Nets
— Scott Soshnick (@soshnick) August 12, 2015
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It is no secret that FCR’s Nets shares are on the market, and Prokhorov has also said he’s willing to entertain talks for minority shareholders. But no buyer has signed on yet in the post-Brooklyn-buzz world. The company admitted finding a buyer has been “slower than (they) had hoped,” but they would be willing to pay the price to avoid losing shares, according to The Real Deal:
While the company is seeking to avoid the payment and is holding discussions with its partners, Forest City CEO David LaRue said in an earnings call Wednesday that “if it comes down to it, if we had to make that payment, we would.”
“We think the 12 percent dilution we’d incur as a result of not making that payment would be detrimental” to the value of Forest City’s stake in the Nets, LaRue added.
