Source: eurohoops.net
Several bidders have offered $1 billion for the London team as part of the new NBA Europe project.
The highest interest has come from football clubs, sovereign wealth funds, private investment firms, as well as wealthy individuals and family groups.
More than five groups have submitted their best and final bids to acquire the London franchise in the NBA-Europe initiative, which is expected to sell for a sum well above $1 billion (€880 million).
According to available information, former Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy is leading a consortium that includes the owner of the Formula E team Liberty Global and Jam Najafi, co-founder of the American private investment firm MSP Sports Capital, to manage the London franchise.
After the Monday deadline, the NBA, working with advisors JP Morgan and The Raine Group, will begin the franchise sales. These will be offered one at a time, starting with the most sought-after, giving bidders who miss out on clubs the chance to redirect their offers to other cities.
This means London is likely to kick off the process, followed by Paris. Both franchises are reported to be sold for prices exceeding $1 billion.
It is expected that the five largest European TV markets — the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Germany, and Italy — will each provide two of the 12 permanent NBA franchises, with one franchise each placed in European countries where basketball enjoys high popularity — Greece and Turkey.
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