NEW YORK _ In a move that might have long-term ramifications for the global growth of the NBA, the league's Board of Governors on Wednesday unanimously approved the sale of the Nets and Barclays Center to Joe Tsai.
The billionaire co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba purchased a 49% stake in the Nets from Mikhail Prokhorov in April 2018 and had an option to buy the remaining 51% by 2021. With the encouragement of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who views Tsai as a leading partner to help grow the brand in Asia, the timetable for completion of the sale was moved two years ahead of schedule.
The reported sale price of $2.35 billion is a record for a sports franchise, and according to several reports Tsai's investment is worth at least $3 billion, including his purchase of ownership of Barclays Center.
