Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban is working on a reported $3.5bn deal to sell his share in the NBA franchise to the Adelson Family.
Cuban, who bought the Mavericks in 2000 for $285m, will sell his majority stake to the family, which also owns the Las Vegas Sands casino company, but retain basketball operations as per the deal.
Las Vegas Sands is headed by Miriam Adelson, who announced she is intending to sell off $2bn worth of shares in the casino, reportedly due to interest in buying an unspecified US sports team.
A Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing confirmed this, stating: “We have been advised by the selling stockholders that they currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, along with additional cash on hand, to fund the purchase of a majority interest in a professional sports franchise.”
The Associated Press further revealed details of the potential deal, outlining that if the $2bn stock proceeds were to be for a majority stake in the Mavericks, that would equate to a 57% share.
Cuban has also been on record stating he would like to work with Las Vegas Sands nearly a year ago, although this mainly pertained to helping to push the legalisation of gambling in Texas.
The outgoing Dallas owner had also drawn out plans to build a new arena in the Texas city that would also host a casino resort.
Supporters of the introduction of legalised gambling in Texas hit a roadblock in its most recent constitutional amendment session, not making it to the legislative stage and will not hold another regular session until 2025.
Being one of the most popular and recognisable NBA owners over the last 20 years, Cuban helped guide the Mavericks to their first and only NBA Championship in 2011, beating the LeBron James-led Miami Heat.
The Dallas majority owner also introduced multiple new hospitality features, such as providing food and more welcoming facilities for opposing teams in Dallas, accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment in 2018, and being one of the first owners to actively sit courtside during games instead of executive boxes.
The potential $3.5bn deal is subject to SEC and NBA approval and could take weeks before it is officially confirmed.
A Dallas Mavericks sale would become the third NBA team sale in the last year, as the Phoenix Suns were sold for $4bn to Mat Ishbia in February, as well as the Charlotte Hornets last June, as NBA legend Michael Jordan sold his majority stake for $3bn to a Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall-led consortium.
