Report: Groups From China, Qatar Among Nets' Potential Suitors
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It seems Mikhail Prokhorov won't have a hard time finding a buyer for the Brooklyn Nets. That is, if he decides to take the money and run.
The franchise, which was purchased by the Russian billionaire for around $220 million in 2010, could have suitors from the U.S. to China to Qatar, according to the New York Post.
Amid reports that they were going up for sale, the Nets said in January that Prokhorov would be open to listening to offers for the team. Prokhorov, who owns 80 percent of the Nets and 45 percent of Barclays Center, previously vowed that he wouldn't give up a majority stake.
Among those showing preliminary interest in buying the Nets, according to the Post: Fosun, a group from China that's also believed to be in the mix for the Atlanta Hawks; "the Qatari government's investment fund"; Dreamworks co-founder David Geffen; Brooklyn native Dick Parsons, former chairman of Time Warner and Citigroup; and "(a)t least two wealthy US families."
It was reported last year that the free-spending Prokhorov, who famously implemented a five-year championship plan before relocating the Nets from New Jersey to Brooklyn, wanted to limit his expenditures in an effort to get his team to the $1 billion valuation mark.
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer purchased the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion in 2014. The Nets could sell for the same number, according to the Post.
