At the beginning of the 2014-2015 season, Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov spoke to American media about the Nets: throwing jabs at Jason Kidd, calling their blockbuster moves good for the “brand,” and confirming that he was looking for minority stakeholders in the Nets.
But while an investment firm has come and gone, Prokhorov’s demands reportedly remain unchanged. Mike Ozanian of Forbes reports that Mikhail Prokhorov has still looked for a buyer that will give into two demands: that Prokhorov maintains 51% of the Nets (the majority stake), and that he values the club at $3 billion — or $1 billion more than the most expensive sale in NBA history, last summer’s transferral of ownership from disgraced Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling to Steve Ballmer. The New York Post reported this valuation back in March.
From Forbes (spelling of Ratner [sic]):
The Clippers are very profitable team, while the Nets lost the most money in the league during the 2013-14 season.
Even when you add the Barclays Center to the equation Prokhorov and Rattner are running more than $20 million in the red. Given the team’s high payroll, a return to profitability is not expected during the next couple of years, meaning a minority investor would have to pump in millions of dollars a year into the team on top of the purchase price.
Ozanian adds that Prokhorov’s demands are too high, noting that investment banking firm Evercore was fed up with the demands and decided to cut ties with Prokhorov, and notes that Prokhorov “didn’t become a billionaire by being stupid… I think he will have to eat some humble pie on this one.”
Forbes — Sale Of Brooklyn Nets Stalled Because Prokhorov Wants $3 Billion
