NBA reviewing Qatari fund bid for minority stake in Washington Wizards
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Washington Wizards guard Xavier Cooks dunks the ball during an NBA game against the Miami Heat.
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WASHINGTON – Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is seeking to acquire a stake in the group that owns the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Washington Wizards, an NBA spokesman confirmed on Thursday.
The proposed deal would see the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) buy a minority stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment – the group led by Ted Leonsis that owns the Wizards, the Women’s NBA’s Mystics and the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Washington Capitals – and would represent a groundbreaking move by a sovereign wealth fund into United States professional team sports.
“The NBA Board is currently reviewing a potential investment by QIA in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Washington Wizards, among other sports properties,” said NBA spokesman Mike Bass.
The Washington Post, citing a person familiar with the terms, reported that the state-owned Qatari fund was seeking to acquire a 5 per cent stake.
Bass noted that the NBA had adjusted its rules in November 2022 to “permit passive, non-controlling, minority investments in NBA teams by institutional investors, including university endowments, foreign and domestic pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds, subject to a set of policy guidelines adopted at that time”.
“All such investments require league review, NBA Board approval and compliance with the policy,” he added.
“In accordance with the (NBA) policy, if approved, QIA would have a passive, minority investment in the team, with no involvement in its operations or decision-making.”
The Athletic cited a “high-ranking NHL source” in saying the league has never precluded investment by a sovereign wealth fund.
Acquisition of a stake in a team does require approval from the league’s board of governors, and The Athletic reported that the executive committee of the board has already signed off on the sale.
Speaking last week, NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke about state investment in sports when discussing the financial deal between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, which backed the breakaway LIV Golf circuit.
“When the Saudis invest in sports, it gets outsized attention,” he said.
“Now, I don’t want to complain about that because we want to get outsized attention. They are investors in some of our largest American corporations. Some of the most well-known brands have investments from them.
“But I also think it’s a two-edged sword.
“I hear the comments about sportswashing... In the same way, the football World Cup brought enormous attention to Qatar. I think people learn about these countries, learn about what’s happening in the world in ways they otherwise wouldn’t.”
Qatar has made heavy investments in global sport over the past decade. Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), owners of French champions Paris Saint-Germain, are reportedly in negotiations over acquiring a stake in Italian football club Sampdoria.
QSI has owned PSG since 2011, transforming them from a struggling outfit into one of the most powerful in Europe with QSI president Nasser Al-Khelaifi also part of the Uefa executive committee.
It also owns a 22 per cent stake in top Portuguese club Braga. AFP
