Luukko confirms "discussions"
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Luukko confirms "discussions"
ESPN.com is reporting that Comcast-Spectacor is in talks to sell the 76ers to a "group led by New York-based leverage buyout specialist Joshua Harris."
Sixers' president and COO Peter Luukko released the following statement about the news: "I can confirm that we are in discussions about the future of the team, but these discussions are confidential and we cannot talk about the details. At some point, we may have something more to say about these discussions, but we will not be making any comments at this point."
Messages were left for Comcast-Spectacor owner Ed Snider and Luukko. When reached, Sixers president Rod Thorn declined to comment.
According to ESPN, the negotiations are "ongoing" and a deal is "imminent." If the two parties -- that would be Comcast-Spectacor and the group led by Joshua Harris -- reach a deal, the sale would become official only with the approval of the NBA's Board of Governors.
As ESPN pointed out, the Sixers were not known to have been for sale before today's news.
According to Forbes, Harris, 46, is worth $1.5 billion. He has ties to the University of Pennsylvania, having graduated from Wharton. And he received his MBA from Harvard. Harris made his money by investing in distressed properties. ESPN is listing other investors in the deal as private equity investor David Blitzer and former Sacramento Kings executive and NBA player agent Jason Levien. Blitzer also graduated from Wharton.
In ESPN's story, it says that Comcast-Spectacor would continue to operate the Wells Fargo Center and that the Sixers would become a tenant.
You can find the full story in ESPN's updated online story, which is here: sale of 76ers.
Reports about Snider's attempts to sell the Sixers have surfaced in the past, including as recently as last summer, but ESPN's story is reporting that this particular deal has progressed to an "imminent" level.
Will update as soon as more information exists.
--Kate
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Wow, hard to believe team could be owned by someone who cares less than Snider.— borncynic- Excellent news! (Unless the new owners move the team . . .)— Leegles
- Probably a good thing since Ed Snider only cares about the Flyers. hopefully two better products result. Hopefully the Sixers aren't moved to Las Vegas or some place.— Dan in Holmesburg
Comment removed.- I'm excited. This more than likely means the sixers will rebuild properly, through the draft and with cap space, Exactly what they should have done along time ago.
— Xdaxblessedx - It would be nice to have an owner who actually cares about the Sixers -
all Snider cares about is his Flyers.— phillydude - Good to see Snider will no longer own this franchise, but somewhat surprised that Comcast is unloading a sports entity, unless they are using the funds to help with their bid for the Olympics. Of course, NBC/Universal had been moving away from sports programming for quite some time.— chuckw
- Mr. Harris is #655 on the Forbes list of global billionaires.
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/10/billionaires-2010_Joshua-Harris_2GYY.html— freesamuel - Hopefully this is a good thing— cuso20
- Comment removed.
- Are the Sixers moving to NY?— shawnmac
- Hopefully they flush this team down the toilet called 'the Delaware River' to Dover or something...the New Castle Shellfish.
-not bob levy— remyy - Does any one really know what time it is ? Does anyone really care ?— cdm48
Things can't get much worse so hopefully this is the first step to bringing this franchise back to its glory.- Why would anyone buy an NBA team when the contract with the players will expire soon after the playoffs end?— angrybear
John Mitchell is in his second year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
