Your new owner of the Charlotte Bobcats? Michael Jordan

The Charlotte Bobcats have a new majority owner.  His name is Michael Jordan.  Jordan, who initially became a minority owner of the Bobcats back in 2006, has now become the teams majority owner, at a bargain of a price.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but the sale price is based on a franchise value of less than $300 million–”in the mid-to-high twos,” said a source familiar with the matter.

Mr. Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, paid $300 million for the expansion franchise in 2003, but the team has been losing money amid a rough economy and years of poor on-court performance. In the past two years, the team has attempted to save money by doing everything from shedding at least 40 front-office jobs to saving as much as $15,000 a night by hiring cheap halftime-entertainment acts. Neither Mr. Jordan nor Mr. Johnson were available for comment. (via WSJ)

Of course the deal is subject to league approval, but the likelihood of the league disapproving a deal by the man that nearly single-handedly took the NBA to prominence in the 90′s is unlikely,

David Stern, commissioner of the National Basketball Association, said in a statement that the league is pleased about the deal, noting Mr. Jordan’s home-state ties. The league expects the expedited approval process to be completed by the end of next month.

The Bobcats are 28-29 entering play today…a half game out of the 8th playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Tags: Basketball, Bob Johnson, Charlotte Bobcats, Michael Jordan

Category: Basketball