Brooklyn Nets majority owner Joe Tsai and minority owner Oliver Weisberg will buy a stake in the National Football League's Miami Dolphins, according to reports.
Tsai, who made his fortune as a co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, will acquire a 2.9% stake in the team, while Weisberg will own 0.1%. Go to the Sports Business Journal report.
Dolphins owner and billionaire real estate tycoon Stephen Ross has announced that he has lost his job after the NFL voted in August to allow private equity groups to own portions of 32 franchises. Selling a non-controlling interest in a franchise.
SBJ reports that Ross plans to sell 10% of his club to Los Angeles-based private equity firm Ares Management. The Dolphins were recently valued at $6.2 billion, According to Forbes magazine.
The Buffalo Bills have agreed to sell 10.6% of the team to private investment firm Arktos Partners, the newspaper reported.
Oil magnate Terry Pegula, who owns the Bills, also plans to sell a 1.4% stake in the team to a group led by Gridiron Capital co-founder and managing partner Tom Berger.
Berger's group reportedly includes former NBA stars Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, as well as former U.S. men's soccer star Jozy Altidore.
According to SBJ, Theresia Gouw, co-founder and managing partner of Acrew Capital, will acquire a 2% stake in Bills, and Sue McCollum, CEO and owner of alcohol distributors Eagle Brand Sales and Double Eagle Distributing, will acquire a 2% stake in Bills. is reportedly planning to acquire 1.7%. .
Bills are Recognized by Forbes magazine For $4.2 billion.
Ross will retain 84.5% control of the Dolphins, while Pegula will control 79% of the club.
Both deals are expected to receive approval from the NFL's Finance Committee during the owners' meeting in December.
The Times has contacted the Bills, Dolphins, Nets, Gridiron Capital, Ares, Arctos, Accru Capital and Eagle Brand Sales for comment.
Bills issued a statement to the SBJ saying, “Earlier this year, the Pegula family retained Allen & Company to explore the possibility of selling a non-controlling minority interest in Bills.”
“Since then, there has been significant interest and we are focused on finding the right partner for our organization. This process is ongoing and pending NFL approval, we remain focused on finding the right partner for our organization. We cannot confirm or finalize the investors.”
“The Pegula family's continued commitment to our fans in this region and beyond, Western New York, and the new Highmark Stadium remains unchanged. Neither the team nor the Pegula family can comment further at this time.”
The NFL's new rules allowing private equity ownership of teams are expected to lead to a flurry of deals.
last month, Bloomberg News reported Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is reportedly in talks to sell a minority stake in the team to the family that owns the tech company Amkor Technology.
