Mikhail's big move
Report: To be sole owner of Nets & arena . . . then may sell team
MIKHAIL Prokhorov is set to become sole owner of the Nets and Barclays Center, and it’s anyone’s guess what it means for the future of the team and the arena.
According to Bloomberg News, the Russian billionaire and a real estate developer, Bruce Ratner’s Forest City Enterprises Inc., have reached an agreement that will give Prokhorov sole ownership of the Nets and the arena. According to the report, the NBA is reviewing the deal.
Earlier this year, Peter Schwartz, a valuations expert, said the Nets and Barclays Center are worth about $2 billion. Prokhorov currently owns 80% of the Nets and 45% of the arena, which also became home to the Islanders this season. Forest City owns the remaining stakes.
League sources are skeptical about Prokhorov’s desire to keep all these assets, however, given his attempts — and failures — over the last two years to sell off shares. The Nets and Prokhorov have always insisted he wants to keep control of the team, but buying out Ratner makes it easier to set his price and divest the club. There have been rumors of Prokhorov being in financial problems because of the plummeting Ruble, and he cut Brooklyn’s salary drastically over the last two years to avoid luxury tax penalties.
In January, Bloomberg reported Prokhorov and Ratner, acting separately, had retained Evercore Partners to sell their stakes in the team.