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Deal to sell 76ers in final stage

    by Kate Fagan
    Published 

Although Comcast-Spectacor's deal to sell the 76ers to a group of investors led by New York billionaire Joshua Harris is "still not done," multiple sources around the negotiation have confirmed that the deal is in its final stages and that an announcement is expected soon, likely within the next few business days, possibly even sooner.

Ken Berger of CBS Sports is reporting that the deal has been finalized. You can find that story here: CBS Sports. But, as stated above, other sources have indicated that talks, while advanced, are still ongoing.

Once terms of the deal are finalized, the sale will then go to the NBA's Board of Governors for approval.

Sources have put the value of the deal at $280 million for a 90 percent share of the Sixers. This deal does not include the NHL's Flyers, also owned by Comcast-Spectacor and Ed Snider, or the Wells Fargo Center, the arena that currently houses both professional franchises.

The sale of the Sixers was first reported over a month ago, but negotiations and other hurdles stretched out finalization of the deal's terms. Harris' investor group also includes David Blitzer of the Blackstone Group and former Sacramento Kings executive Jason Levien. It's unclear what role, if any, Levien will play in the team's front office, currently run by president Rod Thorn.

This new ownership group has already met multiple times with Thorn.

The NBA is currently in a lockout that is expected to be lengthy. While there is a moratorium on player movement, and communication between teams and players has been shut down, the sale of a franchise can still be completed during the lockout.

Harris, 46, is co-founder of Apollo Global Management, which specializes in leveraged buyout transactions. Harris is worth an estimated $1.5 billion. Levien is a former NBA agent and worked for a short time in the Kings' front office.

--Kate

Each week, Kate will check in from the road and answer fan questions about the Sixers. Click here to ask Kate a question or e-mail her at kfagan@phillynews.com.