Seattle Group Now Offering $625 Million For Sacramento Kings
By Bryan Rose
In what could be considered a last ditch effort to bring the Sacramento Kings franchise to the Emerald City, the Seattle based Hansen-Ballmer group has increased their bid to purchase the Kings by $49 million, bringing the overall valuation to a staggering $625 million dollars. While Hansen states that the increase is $75 million, the group would be purchasing 65% of the franchise meaning the true value is 65% of $75 million, thus, $49 million.
Majority investor Chris Hansen announced the decision on his website earlier today:
"In an effort to further demonstrate the extent of our commitment to bring basketball back to Seattle, we have elected to voluntarily increase our proposed purchase price for the Sacramento Kings NBA Franchise by $75 million — from an enterprise value of $550 million to $625 million. In conjunction with our revised offer, we have also guaranteed to the NBA that the Franchise would be a revenue sharing payer in all years in Seattle."
You can read the full release here.
The NBA’s Board of Governors recently voted to block the potential relocation of the Kings franchise and is apparently holding steadfast in their desire to keep the Kings in Sacramento.
It’s been no secret that the NBA has followed their traditional rules for franchise relocation: what has the incumbent city done to lose the team? For Sacramento, the answer is nothing, at least so says Miami Heat owner and member of the NBA’s Relocation Committee Micky Arison who recently had direct messages with a Seattle fan on Twitter leaked in which he stated that the decision was always about Sacramento and what the city had done to keep the team.
The NBA will meet on May 15th in Dallas for a final decision on the Kings’ fate.