The Golden State Warriors’ value is declining faster than Stephen Curry’s jump shot.
Efforts to sell a minority stake in the NBA’s most successful franchise, which has won four championships in the past decade, have been stalled for nearly a year over concerns about the team’s aging population combined with broader worries about the exodus of high-paid tech workers from San Francisco, The Washington Post has learned.
The asking price for an 8% stake in the Warriors values the team, including the recently constructed Chase Center in San Francisco, at $5.4 billion, a source close to the process said. After exploring a deal at a $7 billion valuation last September.
With the rise in popularity of NBA franchises, League plans to sign new TV deal worth $76 billion over next 11 years.
As reported exclusively by The Washington Post, last month Julia Koch bought a 15% stake in the struggling Nets for about $3.8 billion.
The majority owner of the NBA title-winning Boston Celtics put the team up for sale on Monday.
Forbes estimated the franchise was worth $4.7 billion in October, behind the Los Angeles Lakers ($6.4 billion), Knicks ($6.6 billion) and Warriors ($7.7 billion).
However, Golden State missed the playoffs last year with Curry turning 36.
On Monday, Klay Thompson, one half of the famed “Splash Brothers” along with Curry, signed a free agent contract with the Dallas Mavericks.
“This is a tough sell,” said one of the people close to the negotiations.
Sports investment bankers cited the possibility that fickle fans will abandon the team as the Warriors’ value falls from its meteoric rise to a precipitous fall.
Sources noted that many tech workers are fleeing San Francisco or working remotely and may be less likely to come to games, especially if the Warriors are not competing for a championship.
The Warriors’ home game ticket prices are the second most expensive in the league after the Knicks: $608.39 for four of the cheapest tickets, four hot dogs, two beers, two sodas and one parking spot. According to Axios.
Joe Lacob and Peter Guber purchased the Warriors in 2010 for $450 million.
2022, Arktos Sports Partners Bought 5% of the shares The company acquired the team’s stake, including the building and real estate, at a valuation of $5.6 billion, a record for an NBA team stake.
Jerry Cardinale, founder of RedBird Capital Partners, which owns Fenway Sports Group, the owner of the Boston Red Sox, and Italian soccer team AC Milan. He said in a recent interview Sports team valuations are in an economic bubble and will fall.
“There’s a ton of greenfield capital chasing sports,” Cardinale said. Private Equity News.
“I think people need to calm down a bit. The sport needs a calm, non-emotional, non-trophy-obsessed investment.”
