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 The Boston Celtics are up 2-1 over the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals, but some dealmakers are looking elsewhere. NHL's Devils owner Jeffrey Vanderbeek and Newark Mayor Corey Booker are trying to put together an investor group to acquire the New Jersey Nets from real estate dealmaker Bruce Ratner, according to The Newark Star-Ledger, Dealscape's Gerald Magpily noted May 1. Here's a look at more dealmaking news, as it relates to basketball:
In January, WNBA's Seattle Storm sold for $10 million. The acquirer, which also pointed to plans to keep the team in the city, consisted of former Seattle Deputy Mayor Anne Levinson; Lisa Brummel, Microsoft Corp.'s senior vice president for human resources; Dawn Trudeau, a one-time Microsoft executive; and Ginny Gilder, founding executive director of Washington Works. The group acquired the Seattle Storm from Clayton Bennett's Women's Basketball Club of Seattle LLC. HOOPSTERS AS DEALMAKERS The news came six months after two legendary basketball players signaled they would go the dealmaking route: In June 2007, former San Antonio Spur David Robinson unveiled plans to start a $250 million private equity fund with Goldman, Sachs & Co. investment banker Daniel Bassichis, targeting socially conscious companies, according to Bloomberg news. Meanwhile, LeBron James wants to be like Warren Buffett, while Lakers legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson has also built upon his wealth through dealmaking, Dealscape's Matt Wurtzel noted. And even March Madness overlaps with dealmaking, sometimes. In March 2007 the Big 12 Conference men's basketball finalists tipped off in Oklahoma City in conjunction with the three-day Big 12 New Venture Championship, which brought together 10 teams of student entrepreneurs from nine Big 12 colleges vying for recognition as the team with the top business plan for a particular university technology. Last February, the man at the helm of the Portland Trail Blazers looked like the man to save them--an affiliate of Paul Allen's Vulcan Capital signed a letter of intent to acquire Portland Arena Management LLC, the entity that includes both bondholders and the Roze Garden arena where the Blazers play. But, as The Deal's Ben Fidler pointed out, a letter of intent doesn't necessarily translate to a deal in hand down the road. Both Brian Davis, who along with fellow Duke hoopster Christian Laettner was vying for a majority stake in the Memphis Grizzlies, signed a letter of intent, as Jim Balsillie did in a quest for the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, but to no avail. Still, Fidler wrote: "For a team whose arena has been in Chapter 11 and whose split ownership has warred for years, the letter of intent is, at least, a start." The Blazers are just the latest pro sports team to be tossed into the M&A arena. Until Jan.16, it looked like Laettner and Davis were part of an investment group hoping to score a majority stake in the Memphis Grizzlies. It would have marked the latest middle market deal for a U.S. sports franchise, but the team went back on the block after a deadline for exclusive negotiations passed, and Davis "wasn't able to get all of his financing together," according to the seller. Team owner and Chicago billionaire Michael Heisley originally said in Oct. 2006 that he would unload his 70% stake in the team's parent Hoops LLC to buying consortium Grizzlies Acquisition Holdings LLC for $360 million, but the window closed Monday, Jan. 15, and the franchise returned to the block. HOOP DREAMS If the deal still came together, it would fall in line with other recent valuations for basketball franchises.
LEAGUE STANDINGS
--Carolyn Murphy
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