Maloofs Sold the Sacramento Kings for a NBA Record $535 Million

At long last, the Maloof family’s death grip on the Sacramento Kings has been vanquished. And it was a very expensive break-up. According to multiple reports, the Maloofs made off with an NBA record $535 million for the franchise, which will stay in Sacramento. Per the Sac Bee: “The Maloof era in Sacramento, at times spirited and uplifting, at times dismal, appears to have come to an end. A Sacramento investors group has reached a deal with the Maloof family to buy its controlling stake in the Kings. The deal is expected to be unveiled today. ‘It’s the start of a new era,’ said Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur Vivek Ranadive, leader of the Sacramento investor group, speaking to reporters after the Warriors game Thursday night. Ranadive added, ‘We just need to sign some papers and finalize everything.’ If the NBA approves the deal, a source said, escrow is expected to close at the end of May. The source, a stakeholder close to the deal, said the Maloof family was eager to “turn the page” and was pleased it was able to sell to a group that will keep the team in Sacramento. The deal would set the team’s overall value at $535 million, an NBA record. The source did not say why the price values the team at $535 million, rather than the $525 million figure the local group had offered. The sale price translates into $347 million for the 65 percent of the team controlled by the Maloofs and their business partner, Robert Hernreich. Ranadive confirmed that the reported price was ‘about right.’ […] Mayor Kevin Johnson said this morning that the deal by a Sacramento group to buy the Kings from the Maloof family ‘has been signed on both ends’ and that ‘the money has been wired.’ Johnson, speaking at midtown’s Bacon & Butter following a morning segment with News 10, said the deal still has to close, but that he doesn’t see any roadblocks holding up the transfer of the team ownership to a group led by Silicon Valley executive Vivek Ranadive. ‘We’re hoping to get it all done within the next week or so and the (NBA) Board of Governors will vote and I don’t anticipate any surprises,’ the mayor said.”