By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
It’s April Fools’ Day, but the bids for NBA Europe are no joke.
The process officially ended in the first morning hours of the European time zone, and according to sources close to the process, there’s more than solid interest in all 12 markets targeted by the NBA.
In a written statement obtained by Eurohoops, NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum expressed his satisfaction with the whole process: “We have received significant interest from a range of prospective teams and investors for permanent franchise spots in a new league in Europe backed by the NBA and FIBA. The level of engagement and the scale of the bids reflect the marketplace’s belief in our proposed model and the enormous, untapped potential for European basketball. We will now review the bids in more detail and shortlist the partners who share our vision and commitment to accelerating the growth of the game across the continent.”
According to Eurohoops sources, the interest of the potential investors was centered in the UK, Rome, and Paris. Ηowever, there’s new information, and according to it, bids were made in all 12 target cities, which are London, Manchester, Paris, Lyon, Rome, Milan, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, Munich, Athens, and Istanbul.
Those bids are coming from a variety of investor types, including existing teams, outside investment groups, and high-net-worth individuals, while there are multiple bids within the $500M to $1B range, and even above $1B, as “The Athletic” has reported.
So the target of having $5B in fees only, an unprecedented number in European basketball history, may after all be within reach. What’s certain at this point is that there’s meaningful interest from global investors to participate in, and the most capital ever committed to European basketball under the NBA and FIBA umbrella.
As the Italian major outlet “Gazzetta” reported, major funds with ties in Italy, like Oaktree and Redbird, have presented their bids, and there’s also a scenario of Vareze moving to Milan since Argentinian basketball icon and current club CEO Luis Scola is close to Redbird.
Meanwhile, the NBA and FIBA remain in active discussions with the EuroLeague and continue to pursue a constructive, collaborative, and financially viable outcome, with a meeting coming in the next few days, as Eurohoops reported.
However, again according to the same sources that are close to the whole process, the only way to guarantee a permanent spot in the NBA and FIBA’s league is through a successful bid for a permanent franchise through the NBA and FIBA’s investment process.
It has to be noted that while nobody denies at this point that EuroLeague clubs had talks with the NBA, depending on the source, it’s unclear if any of them presented a bid.