Report: Nets talks with Dodgers' owners may become sale
Chris Mannix has reported that discussions between the Brooklyn Nets ownership group and Guggenheim Sports and Entertainment Assets, which owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, may become a discussion of a sale.
According to Mannix, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov is "actively looking to cash out."
Nets ownership has been discussing combining assets with Guggenheim Sports and Entertainment Assets, Nets Daily reported earlier today.
Prokhorov andBarclays Center owner and CEO Brett Yormark reportedly met with Guggenheim president Todd Boehly in Moscow earlier this week. According to the report, in a combination of assets deal Prokhorov would maintain control of the Nets and Yormark would remain in control of the Barclays Center.
In the discussions, the team is being valued at $1.7 billion and the arena at $1.1 billion, said multiple sources. There is no agreement yet, nor a deadline for a conclusion of the discussions. The next step would be an agreement in principle followed by a closing. The combined assets of a new entity could be as high as $8 billion.
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The $8 billion valuation includes the Nets, Barclays Center, Dodgers, Dodgers Stadium and Guggenheim's stake in Dick Clark Productions. Nets Daily also reportsProkhorov could sell the team to Guggenheim, but he did not.
Prokhorov, who has an 80-percent stake in the Nets and a 45-percent stake in the arena, purchased the team for $223 million in 2010. Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reports "high-level NBA execs believe Prokohorov cashes out sooner than later." In June, Wojnarowski reported Prokhorov was listening to offers for the team. NBA team valuations have skyrocketed in recent years following the 2011 lockout. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer bought the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion earlier this year.
The Barclays Center opened in 2012 and the Nets relocated from New Jersey to play there. The NHL's New York Islanders will play their home games at the Barclays Center beginning with the 2015-2016 season.
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