If you want a piece of the Brooklyn Nets, it’ll cost you — at an unprecedented valuation for an NBA team.
Mikhail Prokhorov is willing to entertain a minority stake, which would sell 29 percent of his share and the remaining 20 percent owned by Forest City Enterprises, for a whopping $1.5 billion, according to the New York Post. That would value the team at just over $3 billion. The incoming owner would then own 49 percent of the team, which would still be a minority share to Prokhorov’s remaining 50-plus percent.
Forbes reported earlier today that a business relationship ended between Prokhorov and wealth management firm Evercore, who were originally looking to facilitate a sale for Forest City Enterprises and more recently Prokhorov, because the sale was “a mess” and there were no takers for a minority stake.
Prokhorov may also not be able to sell his stake in the team without selling his share in Barclays Center, and the price alone is a sticking point, according to the Post:
“That price is not near a place it needs to be to get a deal done,” said one source, who believes it is about 50 percent above where it should be.
“Six months from now the ownership will be the same,” the source predicted.
Steve Ballmer recently bought the Los Angeles Clippers outright for $2 billion, the largest sale price ever for any NBA team. With the Nets boasting the league’s largest payroll, record-setting losses in basketball-related operations, and dim prospects in upcoming years, it’s hard to see anyone meeting that price for a minority voice.
New York Post — Nets’ owner Prokhorov now looking to sell a minority interest
