Joe Tsai is selling a minority stake in the Nets to the Koch family — and setting a staggering valuation for the team while doing it.
BSE Global — the parent company of the Nets, Barclays Center and New York Liberty — was assessed a valuation of roughly $6 billion in the upcoming stake sale, per an email sent to other league owners Tuesday.
That’s one of the largest valuations in the history of American pro sports sales.
“More capital to invest in a great fan experience,” a source familiar with the deal told The Post. “The $6B valuation is not stretched at all if you take into account a potential new NBA media deal, a hot WNBA team with exponential growth, and Barclays Center doing really well as a top concert venue.”
Tsai had paid roughly $3.3 billion for the teams and the arena in stages, buying a minority stake and taking control in 2019.
He’s selling a 15 percent share to Julia Koch and her family, which will get a right of first offer of any future control.
The news was first reported by Sportico and confirmed by The Post, which had also been the first to report the share amount.
A source confirmed to The Post that Koch and her family — who are worth an estimated $65.2 billion, according to Forbes — will have no path to control as Tsai did when he bought a minority stake from Russian oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov. She also will not become an alternate governor.
Koch, a 62-year-old New York resident, was married to late billionaire David Koch, and is investing with her three children: David Jr., Mary Julia and John.
“I want to emphasize that both our families are committed to making the necessary investments in our franchises to build a sustainable winning culture,” Tsai told BSE employees in a letter, “as well as in the people and physical infrastructure to bring the best of sports and entertainment to our fans and audiences.”
The valuation is noteworthy, nearly double what Tsai paid.
The Nets (and related properties) had been valued at $3.98 billion by Sportico, and Liberty at $130 million. Clearly the reality surpassed the supposition.
Part of that is likely skyrocketing TV revenues, with the league’s new deals reportedly in the region of 11 years and more than $70 billion. And Barclays Center was the highest grossing arena in the world in April, per Billboard.
The NBA’s advisory finance committee has already reviewed the deal and recommended it be approved by league governors, who must vote by Monday.
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