Report: Alibaba Founder Joseph Tsai Agrees to Buy 49% of Nets

The deal reportedly values the Nets at $2.3 billion.

Joseph Tsai, the co-founder of Chinese internet giant Alibaba, has agreed to purchase a 49% stake in the Brooklyn Nets, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe report. 

Under the current agreement, Tsai will have the option to purchase a controlling interest in the Nets in a few years, ESPN reports. 

Mikhail Prokhorov is the current majority owner of the Nets. He will cede that title to Tsai in four years assuming the latter decides to move forward. 

The agreement values the Nets at $2.3 billion, ESPN reports. The agreement reportedly does not include the Barclays Center, for which Prokhorov is also a majority shareholder. 

Don’t Look Now, But the Nets Are Fun Again

Prokhorov's team will continue managing the team's operations while he remains majority stakeholder. Prokhorov bought complete control of the Nets in 2015 after first purchasing a majority of shares in 2010. 

Tsai, who was born in Taiwan, attended Yale University for both undergrad and law school.