WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Joseph Tsai, the executive vice chairman and co-founder of Chinese e-commerce goliath Alibaba, has reached an agreement in principle to purchase a 49 percent minority stake in the Brooklyn Nets.
The deal includes the option to acquire controlling interest of the NBA franchise in several years, local media reported on Friday.
According to sports network ESPN, the purchase price will be based upon a 2.3 billion US dollars valuation of the team.
The team's owner Mikhail Prokhorov, who has been looking to sell off a sizable-yet-minority stake of ownership for months, will remain principal and operating owner of the Nets for an additional four years, with a presumption that he will sell his majority stake upon the triggering of Tsai's option, ESPN said.
Tsai, 53, will not oversee any basketball or business operations as a minority partner in the team, and responsibilities will stay with Prokhorov and his management team until he sells his majority stake.
