The NBA this week will provide exclusive financial data to funds and clubs interested in playing in the new league. Anyone wishing to participate must make non-binding proposals within two months. And Oaktree also pops up…
NBA Europe accelerates. The Financial Times announced two innovations for the league that the NBA plans to launch in Europe in autumn 2027. The first: this week the NBA began to share exclusive financial data with all parties involved, namely the funds, the football clubs interested in having a franchise and – importantly – the basketball clubs such as Olimpia Milano and Asvel Lyon. The second: the NBA has invited interested parties to submit preliminary, non-binding offers by the end of March. We are at the first deadline: the time for decisions is approaching.
nba europe, where are we at?
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The NBA is determined to have a basketball league alternative to the Euroleague and has been talking about it openly for a few months. The plan includes 12 fixed teams, plus 4 qualified on sporting merit, with a list of preferred cities: Milan, Rome, London, Manchester, Paris, Lyon, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Munich, Athens, Istanbul. Milan is one of the school cases and the news of the day is interesting. The Financial Times, in fact, also mentions Oaktree, Inter’s owner fund, among those who will be granted access to the data room with the financial projections on the new tournament. What does it mean? That Oaktree will evaluate the NBA dossier. Consequently, at the moment, it is right to leave the door open to all possibilities, including Inter being involved in NBA Europe, alone or together with Milan or Olimpia (here is the situation in detail). It is fair to remember, however, that the last few weeks have revealed a decidedly reduced Inter interest compared to that of Olimpia Milano and above all Milan, two clubs that took part in the meeting in London organized by the NBA on Monday the 19th. The funds mentioned, in addition to Oaktree and obviously RedBird, owner of AC Milan, are Blackstone, CVC Capital Partners, General Atlantic, BlackRock and BC Partners.
the times for Milan, Inter, Olimpia
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The most impressive news, however, is the first deadline: the NBA has asked interested parties to submit non-binding offers by the end of March. The fact that it is possible to go back on the decision without paying penalties (“non-binding”…) is very significant and takes away the weight of the passage, however the message is clear: the NBA runs and rushes the potential owners of the franchises. RedBird, for example, is faced with a not so simple decision. On the one hand, Cardinale has always been very interested and very close to the NBA. On the other hand, the cost of participation, estimated between 500 million and one billion, is considerable, considering that Milan, in 2022, cost 1.2 billion. A prediction? Complex but it can be hypothesized that RedBird could enter the game and then negotiate an economic agreement with the NBA. Olimpia will certainly take information and evaluate. As for Inter, they continue to seem further away from the project but in these days, when Oaktree looks at the NBA financial data, a lot could change…
