As Mikhail Prokhorov closes in on the 10-year anniversary of buying the Nets and investing in Barclays Center, he may also be closing in on the sale of another local arena.
The Russian billionaire is reportedly looking to sell off control of NYCB Live, home of Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. It’s part of the portfolio of properties held by his ONEXIM Group and run by BSE Global.
Though Barclays Center is largely considered the more attractive venue — and could turn a profit with the arrival of new Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving — Prokhorov has “interested parties” looking to buy NYCB Live even without getting the Brooklyn arena along with it.
Prokhorov back in September of 2009 paid $200 million for an 80 percent stake in the Nets and a 45 percent interest in the yet-to-be-built Barclays Center. There was debt taken on and losses incurred over the years, but the investment has proven shrewd.
Prokhorov reached an agreement last year to sell 49 percent of the Nets to e-commerce billionaire Joe Tsai at a valuation of $2.35 billion. Tsai has the right to buy a controlling interest in the Nets, and that takeover could happen by January 2021.
But the arenas are a different story, with neither building part of that deal. And Prokhorov appears to have buyers interested in NYCB Live without letting go of Barclays Center.
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