According to a person familiar with the negotiations, Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, is in discussions to sell a majority stake in the NBA franchise to the family that operates the Las Vegas Sands casino company.
The potential agreement is estimated to be valued at $3.5 billion and may take several weeks for the league to approve. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, disclosed this information to The Associated Press.
It is reported that Cuban would maintain control of the basketball operations in the proposed deal. The initial report on the potential sale was made public by NBA reporter Marc Stein.
Earlier on the same day, the company owned by Miriam Adelson, the widow of casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, announced the sale of $2 billion of her shares with the purpose of acquiring a professional sports team.
Almost a year ago, Cuban had expressed his interest in teaming up with the Sands. Reportedly, he has been an advocate for the legalization of gambling in Texas, a matter that did not progress through the state Legislature during the recent session.
The 65-year-old entrepreneur, who recently announced his departure from the popular business TV show “Shark Tank” after the upcoming 16th season, gained rapid prominence after purchasing the Mavericks in 2000.
During the 1990s, Dallas Mavericks was considered as one of the weakest franchises in professional sports, until Cuban’s ownership turned it into one of the most successful, with significant contributions from star forward Dirk Nowitzki.
It’s worth noting that Miriam Adelson is the majority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands Corp., a publicly traded company known for constructing the Venetian and Palazzo resorts, and now focusing solely on casino operations in Macau and Singapore.
The recent sale of $2 billion in stock was disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, identifying Adelson and the Miriam Adelson Trust as sellers, without specifying the target team, league, or location.
If the full $2 billion is utilized for the acquisition, it would imply that Adelson might be obtaining at least 57% of the NBA team, based on the $3.5 billion valuation.
Adelson, a 78-year-old medical doctor and the widow of Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire founder of Las Vegas Sands who passed away in 2021, is set to retain 51.3% of company shares after the sale. The family also possesses the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada’s largest newspaper.
The company’s SEC filing stated, “We have been advised by the selling stockholders that they currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, along with additional cash on hand, to fund the purchase of a majority interest in a professional sports franchise… subject to customary league approvals.”
Approval from the league’s Board of Governors is typically required after a thorough vetting process for new team owners, which often takes several weeks.
Furthermore, Cuban had expressed his desire in late 2020 to develop a new arena in downtown Dallas that would also serve as a casino resort.
However, the legalization of gambling encounters significant challenges in Texas, where the Republican party has held power for three decades. Despite hopes from supporters in the last legislative session to push for a vote on a constitutional amendment, the proposal did not progress beyond the committee.
