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NBA star Kevin Durant takes 5% of the capital of the Philadelphia Union football team

Noah Graham | Getty Images

Kevin Durant is now the owner of a sports team.

Brooklyn star Nets has finalized a 5% stake in the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer, with an option to purchase an additional 5%, the club announced Monday. It is unclear how much Durant paid for the bet.

“I am excited to be partnering with the Philadelphia Union for years to come,” Durant said in a statement. “My team and I immediately got in touch with the technical staff and the leadership of the Union, as well as with the history of the team.”

Under the agreement, Durant and his business partner, Rich Kleiman, will work with the Union through their company Thirty Five Ventures on marketing opportunities that “will focus on growing the Union’s footprint in the world of sport. “.

“We decided to create a different type of partnership that is not simply a passive ownership stake, but a real involvement in marketing and business development for the entire Thirty Five Ventures team,” said Kleiman in a statement.

Durant will also work to improve the communities of Chester and Philadelphia through its Kevin Durant Charity Foundation.

Jay Sugarman, Union owner and CEO of iStar real estate investment firm, said Durant has a community mindset for the first time and “combined with his competitive drive and forward thinking mentality, we believe Kevin adds a key piece to achieve our ambitions for the club. “

The purchase of Durant is the first of what some sports investment companies are projecting will be a challenging time for sports franchises as transactions in limited partnerships could overheat, especially in football leagues abroad, due to the economic impact of Covid-19 on team owners.

Firms Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners are exploring the purchases of the Italian Serie A football championship, which generated approximately $ 2.8 billion in the 2018-2019 season. Texan billionaire Daniel Friedkin, CEO of Gulf States Toyota, has also made an offer of $ 600 million for one of the Serie A clubs.

Charles Baker, Co-chair of O’Melveny’s Sports Industry Group, he said several transactions were pending before the pandemic hit. He projected that things would overheat after Covid-19’s initial shock.

“I think people are approaching somehow cautiously,” said Baker, who advised Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper on his MLS takeover in Charlotte. “Buyers are feeling somewhat enhanced right now, but there is still limited supply.”

Durant’s move could pay off if MLS’s projection of ensuring a lucrative media rights deal continues. The MLS, which has announced that it will return in July, is expected to attract offers far beyond the current rights package, which will last until 2022.

Durant, 31, joins Houston Rockets guard James Harden as the owner of the MLS team. Last July, Harden invested $ 15 million in the Houston Dynamo franchise. Dinamo was last valued at $ 280 million, while the Union is worth $ 240, according to Forbes.

Although some are trying to download shares owned by limited partnerships, Harden told CNBC that he has no plans to sell his investment in Dinamo. “We have just started,” he said.

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