Koch family invests $6 billion in Brooklyn Nets owner

(Bloomberg) — Members of the billionaire Koch family will take a minority stake in BSE Global, the holding company that owns the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty and the Barclays Center.

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Julia Koch and her three children have agreed to invest an undisclosed amount in the group, it said in a statement on Wednesday. They will take a 15 percent stake in the deal that values ​​BSE Global at around $6 billion, said a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential.

The majority owner of the Nets is Joseph Tsai, co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., who will retain control of the teams, the statement said. Bloomberg first reported that members of the Koch family were in talks to acquire a stake in BSE Global.

The deal is the highest valuation an NBA franchise has ever received. Late last year, Mark Cuban sold a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks to the Adelson family of Las Vegas Sands Corp., valuing the team at $3.5 billion. Cuban bought the franchise from H. Ross Perot Jr. in 2000 for around $285 million.

The Kochs’ fortune is estimated at $140 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Charles Koch, the company’s CEO, is the 22nd richest person in the world with a net worth of around $66 billion. Julia is the widow of his brother David, who died in 2019.

While shares in NBA teams have often changed hands without much fanfare, the rising wealth of the super-rich and the valuation of franchises has led to a surge in interest in such deals. Mat Ishbia, the billionaire CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, agreed in late 2022 to buy the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury in a record-breaking deal that values ​​the teams at $4 billion.

Bloomberg News reported that a stake in the Golden State Warriors, the most successful NBA team of the last decade, with a potential value of $7 billion, is also for sale.

Tsai bought 49% of the Nets from Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov in 2017. He acquired the remaining stake in 2019 along with the Barclays Center Arena. The deal ultimately ended up being valued at $3.5 billion including debt.

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