NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers To Be Sold

July 14, 2011

The owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, Comcast-Spectacor, has agreed to sell the National Basketball Association (NBA) team to a group led by Joshua Harris, the co-founder of Apollo Global Management LLC.

Financial terms have not been disclosed, but it is expected that Harris will pay about US$280m.

Hariis said in a statement: “As a basketball fan who attended college in Philadelphia, and with family roots here, I have always felt a strong connection to this city and the 76ers. We look forward to helping the 76ers organization build on this past season’s accomplishments.”

Harris co-founded Apollo Management in 1990. Shares in the company have dropped 14 percent to US$16.39 since they were offered to investors at US$19 each in March, valuing the private-equity firm at US$5.93 billion.

Comcast-Spectacor said a month ago that it was exploring a sale of the 76ers. The agreement does not include the Wells Fargo Center or the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers, which Comcast-Spectacor will retain.

The seller’s statement said that the 76ers “will remain a long-term tenant of the Wells Fargo Center and will have a long-term cable broadcast agreement for its games with Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.”

Comcast is the biggest U.S. cable television operator and bought a controlling interest in NBC Universal from General Electric in January.