I Am a Nobleman in England

The next day, at the New York City Forest Group, Arthur took his men and visited the current owner of the New Jersey Nets, Labrus Ratner, according to the appointment time.

Labrus showed great enthusiasm for the visit of the young English earl of Arthur. Of course, he already knew the purpose of Arthur's visit.

After the polite greetings between the two sides, Arthur did not try to circumvent the ball, but directly put forward his intention to acquire the New Jersey Nets.

However, for Arthur's purchase intention, Labrus was not happy because the buyer appeared, but frowned slightly after taking a few sips of coffee and said apologetically.

"Sorry, Mr. Bolin, regarding the Nets deal, at the end of last year, I have reached an oral agreement with the billionaire Mr. Mikhail Prokhorov of the Bear Country. He will be the team's first choice... ."

Hearing this answer, Arthur did not be too surprised. Instead, he smiled and looked at each other and continued: "I have already understood this, but according to NBA regulations, whether the team can successfully acquire the team depends on the league. The owners of other teams voted.

And the background of this Mr. Mikhail Prokhorov seems to be too complicated, I think this will be a very troublesome thing, isn't it? "

"Haha..." Labrus looked at the extremely young Arthur with a meaningful face, shook his head and laughed: "Actually, it is not as difficult as you think. After all, NBA is a commercial sports league. To put it bluntly, it's just business. ."

"Twenty million!" Arthur squinted his eyes slightly, raised the corners of his mouth, stretched out two fingers, and said to Labrus: "On the basis of 200 million, I will add another 20 million dollars. Please believe me, my sincerity Full."

Labrus frowned slightly, lowered his head and stretched out to touch his chin, then looked at Arthur who was smiling from time to time, and started to ponder.

And Arthur is not in a hurry to urge each other. He has investigated the greed of the Nets owner. The reason why the Nets fell is because Ratner is too stingy.

"Sorry, although this makes me very tempted, but I can only say sorry to you, this is not just a question of money, Rokolov promised me that the Nets will win the championship, I believe the Nets will Go back to the finals.

Everything we do is for the team to have more sufficient funds as a backing. Only in this way can we get the best players and we can share greater happiness. The most important thing is the development of the team, and I don't care if I have the largest equity. I hope the team will develop better in the future. I love the Nets. "

Hearing what Labrus said, Arthur's mouth couldn't help but twitched, and he almost sprayed him with a sip of coffee. It was the same as the truth. However, Arthur was not angry or discouraged, but turned his eyes to those who had been following him. The subordinate's face remembered what the subordinate had said in the car that came to meet Labrus.

"...Boss, Ratner made his fortune on real estate. In 2004, the New Jersey Nets were transferred to Ratner. After acquiring the Nets, he recklessly announced that he would move the Nets home to New York City. Brooklyn. However, the Nets’ move to Brooklyn is only part of Ratner’s “Atlantic Courtyard Project”, which is expected to be completed around 2010. Later Ratner also plans to build a high-end apartment, office building, luxury hotel and other supporting facilities. It will be the largest construction project in the history of Brooklyn, New York, with a total cost of 4 billion US dollars.

However, due to the impact of the US economic crisis and shortage of funds, his "world's most expensive arena" project had to be postponed. Another point is that Bruce Ratner's Forest City Group bought the Nets for $300 million in 2004. , But in the last 5 years, the team's pre-tax loss was as high as $380 million.

At the same time, despite the support of the New York Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to relocate Brooklyn, the strong opposition of local people and the huge funds involved have repeatedly delayed the relocation plan. Opponents have even taken the Forest City Group to court. In summary, it can be seen that Ratner wants to complete the "Atlantic Yard Project" by himself. So he thought of selling the Nets to find a partner to complete his "Atlantic Yard Project". Selling the Nets is not the main purpose, but mainly Must be able to complete the "Atlantic Courtyard Project." I think Ratner should think so. . .

"Hehe, Mr. Ratner, don't rush to refuse. To be honest, I am not only interested in the Nets, but also in the Atlantic Courtyard project led by you. If possible, I hope to join this plan. Of course, the Nets can serve as the basis for our cooperation. To be honest, I attach great importance to the development of real estate around the new arena." Arthur smiled, looking brightly at what he thought, and changed. Ratner was staring.

"Really? This is really surprisingly good news..." Ratner smiled with joy, swept away the feeling of alienation before, and began to chatter about his Atlantic Yard plan.

When one hour later, Arthur left the Urban Forest Group with a bright smile on Ratner’s enthusiasm. After getting into the car, he smiled at his subordinate named Ron next to him: "Ron, what you analyzed As expected, he paid more attention to the Atlantic Yard project."

"Hehe, he also has no choice. The big plan costing 4 billion yuan, once it goes unfinished, then his loss is undoubtedly huge, and he can't bear it. The selling price of the Nets this time is, to a large extent, For a friendly price, the key is to find a partner who can invest in his real estate project.

But boss, we can’t take it lightly. The Mikhail Prokhorov is really not bad money. He is ranked 40th on the Forbes rich list with a worth of 9.5 billion US dollars. If the time comes, the acquisition becomes a bidding war. ,we. . . "

Arthur furrowed his brows and nodded. Although his subordinates did not finish speaking, he naturally understood that if there is more money than money, he really can't compare with this big tyrant in the bear country.

According to the information he saw, this Mikhail Prokhorov is not only very rich, but also one of the most passionate sports fans. He was once the owner of the European Championship basketball team and the coach of the national team.

This time he entered the NBA because after seeing his compatriot Abramovich’s success at Chelsea, he tried to create a "Chelsea myth" in the NBA.

He has a gold mining company in Siberia, and he also occupies a large part of the country's aluminum producers. There is also a media empire, two banks, an insurance company and many real estate assets.

However, like most bear country billionaires, Prokhorov’s wealth is shaped by the ashes of the former bear country, with the help of a little luck and a strong zz relationship.

And this is undoubtedly his biggest resistance to entering the NBA. After all, the US's hostility and rejection of the bear country is extraordinary. Moreover, the private life of this product is even more chaotic, and it has no good reputation in Xiong Country and Europe.

Especially in 2007, he and his friends went to a French ski resort and brought eight models to help them entertain. The French police detained Prokhorov for three days on suspicion of nah, nah.

Thinking of this ~www.readwn.com~ Arthur's eyes were slightly squinted, with a sharp cold glow, and the corners of his mouth were slightly raised with a sneer: "Help me make an appointment with David Stern, and at the same time, let me know that I want to buy the Nets News from the team, it’s time to make good use of the New York media."

"Good boss."

"By the way, did I let the person you contacted get in touch?" Arthur suddenly remembered something and asked.

"Bob Myers was very surprised and very happy about your invitation. He has already set off for New York and will arrive back in the afternoon."

"Ah That's good."

Arthur raised his mouth and smiled. Although his seemingly insignificant decision to invite a strange American to join the acquisition of the NBA team is unknown to his subordinates, he knows better than anyone else. It is because this man named Bob Myers led the transformation of the Golden State Warriors.

To rebirth an NBA team, reform is necessary. However, how to reform and who will host it is more important, and Arthur has decided to intercept Bob Myers and let him become the team he wants to acquire. General manager.