Billionaire Koch family eyeing Nets ownership stake

TORONTO – The Nets could be taking on a very major minority owner, with the billionaire Koch family reportedly in talks to buy a stake.

Bloomberg News first reported the news.

There have been rumblings of Nets owner Joe Tsai looking to sell a minority share for the past year.

These talks could possibly include not just a stake in the team but also BSE Global, the holding company that owns the Brooklyn Nets, the New York Liberty of the WNBA and the Barclays Center.

Bloomberg noted there was no indication of an agreement on a sale yet.

The Koch Brothers family investment vehicle, 1888 Management, is the entity interested in buying a stake, per the report. 

The Nets are valued at just less than $4 billion, and are the fifth-most valuable team in the city, ahead of the Mets.

The Koch family is one of the richest — and most influential — in the country.

They’re worth an estimated $64 billion and would become the second-richest ownership group involved with the NBA, behind only Clippers billionaire Steve Ballmer.

Originally from Kansas, they’ve supported Wichita State basketball in the past.