Koch family’s 15% stake in Nets values struggling NBA franchise at $3.8 billion: source
The Koch family’s deal for a 15% stake in Brooklyn Nets parent BSE Global values the struggling NBA franchise at $3.8 billion – and puts the valuation for the parent company at $5.8 billion, The Post has learned.
Julia Koch – the widow of David Koch and one of the richest women in the world with an estimated net worth of roughly $65 billion, according to Forbes – and her three kids agreed earlier this week to pay a little less than $700 million for their chunk of BSE Global, according to a source with direct knowledge of the deal.
The company, chaired by Nets owner Joe Tsai, also includes the WNBA’s New York Liberty and Barclays Center.
The source with knowledge of the financial breakdown of the deal said Koch’s 15% stake in BSE Global values Barclays Center at $1.5 billion, and the Liberty at roughly $200 million – a significant spike from the $130 million value the team had at the start of year, according to Sportico.
The Liberty went to the WNBA finals last season and the league has exploded in popularity this year with the addition of rookie phenom Caitlan Clark.
Tsai and the Kochs declined comment.
Reports this week said the Kochs were buying the stake in BSE at about a $6 billion valuation and did not have the breakdown between its divisions.
The value of the Nets has now jumped by more than a third since Tsai paid $2.35 billion for the team in 2019. At the time, he also paid $1 billion for the Barclays Center. The $3.8 billion valuation puts the Nets in the middle of the pack in the NBA, which has seen franchise values soar in recent years.
Coming into 2024, the Golden State Warriors were valued at $7.7 billion, followed by the New York Knicks ($6.6 billion) and the Los Angeles Lakers ($6.4 billion), according to Forbes.
