Darren Rovell reported Tuesday night that Mikhail Prokhorov has ended his relationship with Evercore, the investment banker who was marketing both the Nets and Barclays Center. No word on whether the decision means that Prokhorov, who owns 80 percent of the team and 45 percent of the arena has lost interest in selling, slowing the process or simply changing investment advisers.
Rovell reports...
Prokhorov, who owns 80 percent of the team and 45 percent of Barclays Center, hired the bank in January to take offers on the heels of Steve Ballmer's $2 billion purchase of the Los Angeles Clippers. But in recent days, the idea that the team would be sold in the very-near future didn't seem likely.
Indeed in the last week, both Brett Yormark and Billy King have suggested that the Russian would continue to retain interest in the club.
"Nothing has happened and they've been talking about it (in the media) for a year," Yormark told a sports symposium in Manhattan last week. "So I'd probably say I don't think anything is going to happen. We have an ownership group that is very committed."
Similarly, in a dinner with season ticket holders, King said he expects the Russians "will be around for a while." He fully expects the Russians to stay, in part, because are having too much fun. Dmitry Razumov, the Nets chairman of the board and King's key contact remains fully engaged in basketball operations.
In addition, the Financial Times reported that advisers to prospective buyers were complaining about being able to get detailed information on the potential sale of the team and/or arena. There has been some speculation that the Nets would like to sell up to 49 percent of the team with an option to take control at a later date.
The New York Post reported last week that among those most serious about interest in the team was the Qatari Sports Investment, an arm of the Qatari sovereign growth fund that makes investments overseas for the Persian Gulf emirate. QSI already controls Paris Saint-German, the French soccer club into which they have poured hundreds of millions of dollars if not billions.
- Mikhail Prokhorov ends deal to explore sale of Brooklyn Nets - Darren Rovell - ESPN
- Report: Mikhail Prokhorov no longer working with bank to sell Nets - Dan Feldman - Basketball Insiders
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Report: Mikhail Prokhorov Cuts Firm Exploring Nets Sale - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game