Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov has officially agreed to sell his remaining stake in the Brooklyn Nets and full ownership of Barclays Center to Joe Tsai, the team announced Friday.
Tsai, who had already paid $1 billion for a 49% share of the Nets in 2018, is paying an additional $1.35 billion for the remaining 51% share, sources confirmed to ESPN earlier in the week.
This purchase to Tsai, the co-founder of Alibaba, one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies, still needs approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors, which had already approved the first transaction.
A statement said the transaction should be finalized by the end of September, and Brett Yormark, who has served as CEO of the Nets since 2005, will step down from his post after overseeing the transition to new ownership..
Prokhorov bought the Nets from real estate developer Bruce Ratner in 2010, allowing the team to complete its move into Brooklyn, and Barclays Center, in 2012.
“It has been an honor and a joy to open Barclays Center, bring the Nets to Brooklyn, and watch them grow strong roots in the community while cultivating global appeal,” Prokhorov said Friday in a statement. “The team is in a better place today than ever before and I know that Joe will build on that success, while continuing to deliver the guest experience at Barclays Center that our fans, employees, and colleagues in the industry enjoy.”
The $2.35 billion total value of the deal for team, not including the arena, makes it the largest purchase price of an American professional sports team, surpassing the $2.2 billion paid by David Tepper to buy the Carolina Panthers and by Tilman Fertitta to buy the Houston Rockets.
Yormark came to the Nets from NASCAR, and helped usher the franchise to Brooklyn from its prior homes in East Rutherford and Newark, New Jersey. Having initially come aboard under Bruce Ratner, Yormark stayed in his post during Prokhorov’s ownership over the past nine years.
“Without Brett’s innovative foresight and leadership, we would not be where we are today with the Nets and Barclays Center,” Prokhorov said in the statement. “Brett had always made it clear to me that when the arena and team sold, he would move on and begin his next journey. Thank you to Brett, who has been a true partner and friend over the past 15 years.”