"I'd like to make you an offer you can't refuse."
The Nets made it official that Mikhail Prokhorov and his Onexim Group will invest in the basketball team and their new Brooklyn arena. The Russian billionaire will acquire 80% of the NBA team, 45% of the arena itself, and the option to buy up to 20% of the non-arena real estate. Current Nets owner Bruce Ratner purchased the team in 2004 and has seemingly gotten his wish by flipping the team and building a real estate deal on top of it. It seems that the key part of the deal was providing financing for the stalled arena project which is reported to cost $800 million. Prokhorov’s ownership still needs to be approved by at least 75% of the league’s owners. Sorry, New Jersey.
Tags: atlantic yards, basketball, brooklyn, bruce ratner, mikhail prokhorov, NBA, new jersey nets
