Brooklyn Nets majority owner Joe Tsai and minority owner Oliver Weisberg are buying a stake in the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins, according to a report.
Tsai, who made his fortune as co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, is set to acquire 2.9% of the team while Weisberg will own 0.1%, according to a report in Sports Business Journal.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, the billionaire real estate magnate, is selling non-controlling stakes in his franchise after the NFL voted in August to approve allowing private equity groups to own pieces of its 32 franchises.
Ross is planning to sell 10% of his club to Ares Management, the Los Angeles-based private equity firm, according to the SBJ report. The Dolphins were recently valued at $6.2 billion, according to Forbes.
The Buffalo Bills are also in agreement to sell 10.6% of the team to private investment firm Arctos Partners, according to the report.
Terry Pegula, the oil magnate who owns the Bills, also plans to sell 1.4% of the team to a group led by Tom Burger, co-founder and managing partner of Gridiron Capital.
The Burger-led group reportedly includes retired NBA stars Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady as well as former US men’s soccer star Jozy Altidore.
Theresia Gouw, co-founder and managing partner of Acrew Capital, is reportedly in line to buy 2% of the Bills while Sue McCollum, CEO and owner of alcohol distributors Eagle Brand Sales and Double Eagle Distributing, will acquire 1.7%, according to SBJ.
The Bills are valued by Forbes at $4.2 billion.
While Ross will retain a controlling stake that amounts to 84.5% of the Dolphins, Pegula will control 79% of his club.
The two deals are expected to win approval from the NFL’s finance committee when owners meet in December.
The Post has sought comment from the Bills, Dolphins, Nets, Gridiron Capital, Ares, Arctos, Acrew Capital and Eagle Brand Sales.
The Bills issued a statement to SBJ which read: “Earlier this year, the Pegula family retained Allen & Company to explore the potential sale of a non-controlling, minority interest in the Bills.”
“Since then, there has been a significant amount of interest, and our focus has been on finding the right partners for our organization. The process is on-going, and any potential investor cannot be confirmed or finalized until it is approved by the NFL.”
“The Pegula family’s continued commitment to our fans across this region and beyond, Western New York, and the new Highmark Stadium remains unchanged. Neither the team nor the Pegula family can comment any further at this point.”
The NFL’s new rule allowing private equity ownership of teams is expected to lead to a flurry of deals.
Last month, Bloomberg News reported that Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was in talks to sell a minority stake in his team to the family that owns tech firm Amkor Technology.
