Alibaba exec to buy Brooklyn Nets, arena for $3.4 billion

NEW YORK >> In a record sale for a U.S. sports franchise, the co-founder of Alibaba agreed to buy the remaining 51 percent of the Nets and Barclays Center for about $3.4 billion, two people with knowledge of the details said Aug. 16.

Joe Tsai already had purchased 49 percent of the team from Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov in 2018, with the option to become controlling owner in 2021.

Instead, he pushed up that timeline for full ownership of a team on the rise after signing superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in July.

Terms were not disclosed, but those familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that Tsai is paying about $2.35 billion for the Nets and nearly $1 billion in a separate transaction for the arena. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreements are not complete.

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of September and is subject to approval by the NBA’s Board of Governors.

It will surpass the $2.2 billion that Tilman Fertitta paid for the NBA’s Houston Rockets, and that David Tepper spent for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.

Tsai is the executive vice chairman of the Alibaba Group, the Chinese e-commerce giant. He already had purchased the WNBA’s New York Liberty.

Prokhorov became the NBA’s first non-North American owner in 2010 and oversaw the Nets’ move from New Jersey to Brooklyn two years later. He spent big in the first couple years after the move in a quest to chase a championship, but the team soon became one of the worst in the NBA before rallying to return to the playoffs last season.

He boasted of trying to win a championship within five years of his ownership, rapidly going through players and coaches in the first few years in Brooklyn. But he spent less time around the team in recent years while focusing on his interests in Russia — which at one point included a campaign for president of the Russian Federation — and remained in the background after hiring Sean Marks as the team’s general manager in 2016.

MARY ALTAFFER - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Joe Tsai speaks to reporters during a news conference before a WNBA exhibition game between the New York Liberty and China in New York on May 9.