According to a report by Yahoo! Sports, the NBA’s Relocation Committee, headed by Seattle pariah Clay Bennett, owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder, held a conference call to discuss “a non-binding set of deal points” on the $525 million sale of the Sacramento Kings to a group headed by hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer. Purpose of the call was to “push the purchase toward completion” and clear the way for the Kings to relocate to Seattle.
Yahoo! Sports also reported that it learned from league sources that the Hansen-Ballmer group would purchase 65 percent of the Kings, which would constitute the 53 percent of the franchise owned by the Maloof family and another 12 percent owned by Bob Hernreich.
Sources also told Yahoo! that the Maloofs have sought to retain some percentage of ownership, but Hansen-Ballmer want the Maloofs out of the organization as a condition of purchase.
The Kings have not yet filed relocation papers to move to Seattle, but must do so by March 1 so that the franchise can play the 2013-14 season at KeyArena, which would become the team’s home for two seasons while a new arena is built. Once Hansen-Ballmer officially acquire a franchise, either the Kings or any other team, plans can proceed on the construction of the new basketball/hockey facility.
The $525 million sale price is considered the current valuation of the Kings. If the sale is completed for that amount, it would set an NBA record.
1 Comment
wow that is crazy money for the Queens. I am not confident this deal will get done.