Report: Prokhorov nearing deal to purchase remaining share of Nets, Barclays Center

The majority owner of the Brooklyn Nets may soon be the sole proprietor of one of the NBA's most notable franchises.

Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is nearing a deal to buy all of the Nets and Barclays Center, the New York Post reports.

Prokhorov owns 80 percent of the basketball team and 45 percent of the Barclays facility, with the rest remaining with Bruce Ratner's Forest City Enterprises. The alleged deal would see Prokhorov forgive roughly $31 million owed to him by Forest City for losses the team has incurred - including a $6-million debt owed by Sept. 8. One analyst told the Post that Forest City could receive under $100 million in cash on the sale to Prokhorov.

The franchise is valued externally at an estimated $700 million, the Post reports, but $210 million in debt serves to decrease that value. Prokhorov reportedly values the franchise at $3 billion, and would therefore be paying what he perceives to be well below market price for the remaining 20 percent.

Valuing Barclays Center, which has an estimated $640 million in debt, is more difficult, but the Post reports that analysts see little equity value in the property at reasonable sale prices.

While reports early in the 2014-15 season suggested Prokhorov was exploring a sale of the franchise in the face of a weak Russian ruble, Prokhorov reportedly ended an agreement in March with investment bank Evercore Partners to explore a potential sale.

Ratner, meanwhile, has been looking to sell his majority stake in Barclays Center and his minority stake in the team for nearly a year.

Prokhorov acquiring the remaining portion of the team and arena may actually help facilitate a sale rather than take the team off the market entirely. Selling the franchise is believed to be easier as a whole rather than in parts, and selling the arena with the Nets removes any concern over the team's favorable lease, since new ownership would control both entities.