Wednesday 18 September 2019 17:44, UK
The NBA board of governors has officially signed off on the sale of the Brooklyn Nets and full ownership of Barclays Center to Joe Tsai for an American sports record $2.35billion.
Tsai, who paid $1billion for a 49 per cent share of the Nets in 2018, is paying an additional $1.35billion to Mikhail Prokhorov for the remaining 51 per cent share.
"We are thrilled that Joe Tsai is becoming the principal owner and governor of the Brooklyn Nets," said NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
"In addition to being a passionate basketball fan, Joe is one of China's preeminent internet, media and e-commerce pioneers and his expertise will be invaluable in the league's efforts to grow the game in China and other global markets. I would also like to thank Mikhail Prokhorov and Dmitry Razumov for their enormous contributions to the Brooklyn community, the Nets organisation and the league. They leave a thriving team, well-positioned for the future."
Tsai is the co-founder of e-commerce company Alibaba.
Prokhorov purchased the team from Bruce Ratner in 2010 and completed a move to Brooklyn and Barclays Center in 2012.
The purchase price exceeds the previous record sale price of $2.2billion, the cost to David Tepper to buy the Carolina Panthers and Tilman Fertitta to buy the Houston Rockets.
