Alibaba Denies Vice Chair Joseph Tsai Is In Talks To Buy Stake In Nets

Alibaba on Thursday denied that Vice Chair Joseph Tsai is in "advanced talks to buy a stake" in the Nets, according to Toonkel & Oran of REUTERS. Sources said that Tsai was "in talks to buy a stake" in the team, valuing the Nets at around $2.2B, and that a deal "could be finalized in the next few weeks." But it is "possible that negotiations could collapse at the last minute." The "exact size of Tsai’s possible stake could not immediately be learned" (REUTERS, 10/5). Meanwhile, in N.Y., Josh Kosman cites sources as saying that Nets Owner Mikhail Prokhorov is "getting closer to selling" the team. There are "multiple suitors late in the process" to buy a 49% stake in the Nets, along with the "right to buy a larger stake and become the controlling owner in three years." The sale "does not include" Barclays Center (N.Y. POST, 10/6).