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CNBC's Darren Rovell reports that Albert Hung, a Chinese businessman, has agreed to buy a 15 percent stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers, and will become the second largest stakeholder (behind Quicken founder Dan Gilbert) in the franchise.Last May, before Cavs supernova LeBron James took off for a global tour which included a marketing push in the Middle Kingdom, Chinese-born but American-based investor Kenny Huang was rumored to be in play for the stake. But outgoing Cavs minority owner David Katzman told Reuters that deal fell through, paving the way for Hung, whose central business is solar energy panels.
The last time Chinese ownership in the Cavaliers came around, it was seen as am ploy to keep LeBron around, as if a minority investor could wave open the curtains hiding the gilded path to Beijing's heart. All indications keep that theory alive, though you almost wonder that as the hours tick toward July 1, 2010, whether Katzman, an original partner of Gilbert, wanted to get out of the game with LeBron still in his deck.
In other words, how much in value does a 15 percent stake in the Cavaliers go down on July 2 if LeBron has agreed to sign elsewhere? And even if the chance of that happening is, saying, 3:1, what's the risk aversion worth to you? Without knowing how much the financial terms changed post-Huang, and without Katzman admitting as such, we won't know. But it's worth considering. (It'd, of course, be only more curious if Gilbert had given up a slice of his pie.)
Either way, this is now to major foreign investments in the NBA this year, with Russian mogul Mikhail Prokhorov having agreed to purchase an 80 percent stake in the Nets months ago. That speaks both to international interest in the league as a worthwile financial investment, and the readiness of some within the league to get out now.
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