Joshua Harris buys Philadelphia 76ers, Awaits approval from NBA – Basketball News
The National Basketball Association lockout has hampered the free agency; practice sessions, training routines and so on. However, it certainly did not hamper New York City’s billionaire, Joshua Harris from purchasing Philadelphia 76ers.
According to sources, the former owner of the Philadelphia 76ers Ken Berger of Comcast Spectacor will sell the organization to Harris who is the CEO of the Apollo Global Management. It is believed that the terms of the sale have been completed and both the parties are waiting for the approval from NBA.
Joshua, a renowned buyout specialist, said after making the settlement,
"We are honoured to have the opportunity to be affiliated with this storied franchise. As a basketball fan who attended college in Philadelphia, and with family roots here, I have always felt a strong connection to this City and the 76ers.We look forward to helping the 76ers organization build on this past season's accomplishments in the years ahead. The ownership group also looks forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Comcast-Spectacor."
The deal that was completed on Wednesday does not include the ownership of the Wells Fargo Centre, which is the breeding ground of the Sixers. Comcast Spectacor, which has owned the Philadelphia 76ers for 15 years, will retain the rights of the building.
There is no definite confirmation of the price of the sale; however sources suggest that the agreement is worth 280 million dollars.
The new ownership of the Sixers, also include senior director of the Blackstone Group David Blitzer and former Sacramento Kings executive Jason Levien. The case has now been forwarded to the NBA board of Governors, who hold the authority to approve the deal and make it official.
The deal has come in the midst of the work stoppage and there is still no answer as to when the league will get back to business. Since the league locked out the players, the representatives of the NBA owners and the players’ unions haven’t even met and it is only now, that some ground movement has been made to set a meeting.
However, even with all the uncertainty around, the new owners of the Philadelphia 76ers are pretty excited about the new experience of governing an NBA franchise. One of the proprietors, David Blitzer said on the occasion.
"We are excited to become associated with this iconic team and to have the chance to serve the great city of Philadelphia,"
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