We told you a few days ago that Joshua Harris and the rest of the Sixers ownership group was closing in on a deal to purchase the New Jersey Devils of the NHL.
They should cross that finish line and have the deal announced Thursday, reports John Gonzalez at CSNPhilly.com. The Prudential Center in Newark where the Sixers played (and the Nets did briefly) would be part of the deal.
The report adds that Sixers CEO Scott O’Neil will have the same role with the Devils, he will oversee both franchises.
The purchase price of the Sixers is not known (yet). Forbes estimated them at $205 million but teams have been sold for much more than those projections recently. There is also the question of how much debt the Harris group takes on in this deal — current Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek is reportedly $230 million in debt. Harris and his group will take on likely most of that.
This in no way means the Sixers are moving — their lease has them locked in Philly for a long time.
What would this mean for the Sixers? Probably nothing. While there are some efficiencies of scale that owning two professional sports franchises can provide on the business side, there should be no impact in basketball operations. That’s where Sam Hinkie has undertaken a “getting worse to get better” philosophy, and has hired coach Brett Brown to oversee the rebuild.