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."
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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I remember in 2006 Will Smith and Dr. J wanted to buy the Sixers and Snyder turned them down... now he sells the team to a New York based firm?? ridiculous.— low2behold- Nice to see Mr. Baldwin and the group giving the team up. Get some new blood in there and when they start winning, that'll turn the heat up even more on the Flyers. I like it.— Realistic One
- This will free up some time for Mr. Snider to ride in Sarah Palin's sidecar and teach the country revolutionary era history. And perhaps fund a think tank to promote his own revolutionary idea of how rich people don't like the government.— bobcitydoc
- Isn't it great that our Philly sports hacks get their reports from ESPN just like we do?— bugsyhawk
- How is it that ESPN breaks this story but Philly.com has all of these beat writers dedicated to just the Philadelphia area? Seems like the Philly media is asleep at the wheel again like they were with the Cliff Lee signing.— oglejd
ESPN breaking a Philly sports story. The Philly media has fallen down, again.— wylies99- This whole thing sounds crazy. Why would Comcast sell one of their "properties"? They only bought the Sixers and Flyers for programming. Why would someone buy an NBA team right before an expected strike/lockout? Leveraged buyouts are based on buying an undervalued property. Are the Sixers undervalued? This just reminds me of some great advice. A fool and money are soon parted, but nobody said how the fool got the money in the first place.— Trident252
- Let the team go....they have sucked except for one mistake season since Erving and Moses left in the mid 80's. Hasn't been a reason for me to watch ever since....that includes Barkley and AI era's...
— mbutley - will this help DirecTV get access to the Flyers games? That is all I want to know.— LGbalsac
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- wait, Philly still has an nba team? I like how "Harris made his money by investing in distressed properties." That sounds like the sixers.— palmyra21
- I do think the Sixers moving would be very likely. I mean they basically had to give seats away this past year.— wolfburn
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The Sixers have had Two good draft picks in the last 17 years -
Barkley and Iverson -
it really can't get any worse.— phillydude
Keith Pompey has been an Inquirer reporter since September 2004. He takes over the Sixers beat after covering the Temple men’s basketball team for the past three years and Temple football the past two seasons. Pompey also previously covered the Penn and Drexel men’s basketball team and Villanova football team after initially focusing on high school sports.
Pompey is a native Philadelphian and a University of Pittsburgh. Follow him on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers or reach Keith at kpompey@phillynews.com.
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.
