Billionaire Koch family in talks to buy Brooklyn Nets minority share / News - Basketnews.com

The Brooklyn Nets might soon have a new minority shareholder, as one of the richest families in the US is interested in investing in the franchise.

Credit: Reuters – Scanpix Credit Reuters – Scanpix

In 2019, Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai completed a $3.5billion deal to assume full control of the NBA franchise.

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However, Tsai is now in talks to sell a minority stake (10%) to the billionaire Koch family, whose fortune is estimated at $64billion, Bloomberg first reported.

The potential deal could also include BSE Global - the Nets holding company that also owns its Barclays Center home and the WNBA’s New York Liberty among other sporting assets. Talks between the two sides are said to be ongoing.

The Koch family, led by 88-year-old Charles Koch, are one of the richest and most influential in the USA, and will allegedly conclude the transaction via their family investment vehicle, 1888 management. Koch Industries, the family business in which both David and brother Charles joined back in the 1960s and 70s, is the second largest privately held company in the United States.

Should the Koch family purchase shares in the franchise, the Nets would have the second-richest ownership group in the NBA behind only Clippers billionaire Steve Ballmer. The Nets are worth just under $4billion, making them the fifth most-valuable team in New York behind the Yankees, Giants, Knicks and Jets.

The Koch brothers have ventured into basketball in the past, turning Wichita State University's team into a college-basketball powerhouse after donations from both Charles and Koch Industries.

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