Billionaire Julia Koch and her family are paying $688 million in cash for their 15% stake of BSE Global, the parent of the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty and Barclays Center, according to a memo sent this week to NBA owners.
The deal assigns BSE a post-money enterprise value of $6 billion, Sportico reported on Tuesday. The more detailed financials, which haven’t yet been reported, were included in an email sent to NBA owners to solicit votes to approve the deal.
The $6 billion enterprise value includes $1.43 billion of net debt, said the memo, a copy of which was viewed by Sportico. That’s broken down as $877 million of “enterprise indebtedness” and $550 million of “subordinated owner loans.”
The $688 million figure for a 15% stake implies an equity valuation of about $4.6 billion. BSE will use the majority of the Koch cash—$492 million—to pay down the outstanding principal amount on the owner loans, the memo says. The other $196 million will be used for working capital.
Representatives for BSE Global, controlled by Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, and the Koch family didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The agreement still needs approval from league owners. The NBA’s advisory/finance committee has recommended it be approved; owners have until June 24 to vote.
Sportico currently values the Nets and their related businesses at $3.98 billion, the 13th-highest in the NBA, and the Liberty at $130 million, third in the WNBA. The $6 billion enterprise value likely reflects growth in the economics of the Barclays Center and the impact of the NBA/WNBA’s new TV deals, which are being finalized and expected to more than double both leagues’ annual income from their media partners.
Koch and her family are worth $65.7 billion, according to Forbes. The group owns 42% of Koch Industries, which is not directly involved in the deal. The Tsai family will retain control.