Alibaba.com co-founder Joseph Tsai has reached an agreement to buy a 49% stake in the Brooklyn Nets, currently owned by Russian industrialist and financier Mikhail Prokhorov. According to Adrian Wojanarowski and Zach Lowe of ESPN, the Chinese e-commerce titan will purchase 49% of the NBA franchise now, leaving Prokhorov as the majority owner and decision-maker, with an option to increase to a controlling position after four years. The deal is reported to be based on a franchise valuation of $2.3 billion.
Prokhorov acquired the Nets in 2010. Since then they have compiled a 221-342 record (39.