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The NBA will next week give private equity firms and top European football clubs access to financial projections for its proposed European league, as the world’s top basketball competition pushes ahead with plans to expand internationally.
Blackstone, CVC Capital Partners, RedBird Partners and General Atlantic are among the groups that will be given access to a data room as soon as Monday, according to people familiar with the situation.
BlackRock, BC Partners and Oaktree Capital are also set to be given access to the documents as investors assess whether to back teams that would participate in the new league.
In US sports leagues, including the NBA, private equity firms and other institutional investors are barred from owning teams outright.
However, speaking last week in London, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that the European league would take a different approach, noting that sovereign wealth funds and private equity firms already owned and operated teams in Europe.
“We are open to different kinds of investors that, as principal investors, aren’t currently allowed in the NBA and the US,” he said. “With an opportunity to begin a league from scratch, we’re taking a fresh look and we’re realists. We understand that there are different norms in different parts of the world in terms of sports team ownership.”
After initially receiving more than 300 expressions of interest, the NBA has narrowed down the list of potential financial backers for the European league to several dozen, according to people familiar with the matter.
Nonbinding team franchise bids are due by the end of March, with the NBA hoping to launch the competition in late 2027.
Team franchises are likely to be valued at between $500mn and $1bn, according to people briefed on the discussions.
Executives at several top European football clubs, including Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Turkish side Fenerbahçe and Athens-based Panathinaikos, will also be given details of the NBA Europe project, including its governance structure and revenue forecasts. While known for their football teams, all are multisport clubs that already operate basketball teams.
The NBA plan threatens to reshape European basketball and poses a major threat to EuroLeague, the long standing regional competition. Barcelona recently renewed its licence to play in EuroLeague but said it would always seek to compete “in the best competitions available”.
Silver said he hoped the involvement of football teams would help bring to basketball the kind of “tribalism” and “religious fervour” typically associated with European sports fans.
The NBA plan threatens to reshape European basketball and poses a major threat to EuroLeague, the long-standing regional competition.
Barcelona recently renewed its licence to play in EuroLeague but said it would always seek to compete “in the best competitions available”.
Existing European basketball teams, including Lyon-based ASVEL, owned by French NBA legend Tony Parker, and Olimpia Milano have also been shortlisted as potential participants in the new league.
The NBA has been seeking to build interest in its proposed European expansion, meeting potential investors, broadcasters and sponsors in recent days after staging games in London and Berlin.
The association has been making the case for establishing its own European league based on basketball’s growing popularity outside the US, and the region’s strong record of producing top players. A European has been named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player five times in the past seven years.
