Report: Parent Company of Nets, Liberty Sell 15% Stake to Julia Koch at $6B Valuation

The Koch family is reportedly on the verge of owning a 15 percent stake in the parent company for the NBA's Brooklyn Nets and the WNBA's New York Liberty.

Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico reported Tuesday that billionaire Julia Koch—along with her children David Jr., Mary Julia and John—agreed to purchase the stake of BSE Global.

Soshnick and Novy-Williams explained the parent company of the Nets, Liberty and Barclays Center was just given a post-money enterprise valuation of approximately $6 billion.

The Kochs are purchasing the stake from Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, who control BSE Global. While league governors must vote by June 24 to approve the sale, the NBA's advisory financial committee already reviewed it and recommended approving it.

Of note, the Tsais will still retain full control of the teams. What's more, Koch Industries is not involved.

Soshnick and Novy-Williams pointed out Sportico lists the Nets as the 13th-most valuable franchise in the NBA at $3.98 billion and the Liberty as the third-most valuable franchise in the WNBA at $130 million.

Billboard also reported in April that Barclays Center was the highest-grossing arena in the world:

On the court, the Nets were just 32-50 this past season and had a streak of five consecutive playoff appearances snapped. They lost in the first round in four of those postseason appearances and never made it past the second round.

Brooklyn has also cycled through head coaches of late with Steve Nash, Jacque Vaughn and Kevin Ollie all leading the way at different times in the past two seasons. The team just named Jordi Fernández as the next head coach in April.

The Liberty are better set up for immediate success.

They just reached the WNBA Finals last season, where they lost to the Las Vegas Aces, and could be on their way to another appearance in 2024. They are 12-2 this season with a group of star players that includes Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones, among others.

Both teams will now be pursuing championships with a new family involved at the ownership level.