It would take one hell of a GoFundMe.
James Dolan did not rule out selling the Knicks in an ESPN feature published online Monday, saying he has gotten “feelers” from potential buyers, but not yet a solid offer that made sense.
The Knicks owner said he got overtures valuing the team at around $5 billion. If so, that would makes the Knicks the most valuable team in any sport, tying them with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, who Forbes values at $5 billion.
Forbes last valued the Knicks at a much lower $3.6 billion.
“You hear numbers all the time,” Dolan told the Web site. “… I think people have sent feelers out, but never any that were pursued. Yeah, [the feelers are] around that number [$5 billion], but those things, it’s like a stock price. It’s only important if you’re going to buy or sell.”
Dolan, through the Garden, issued a statement Monday saying, “As we have previously stated, there are no plans to sell the Knicks.”
Dolan’s MSG plans to spin off his sports teams, including the Knicks and Rangers, into a separate publicly traded company next spring. The remaining company will be comprised of a live entertainment business and a one-third stake in the sports entities.
There is an expectation that Dolan’s entertainment company will reach a deal to sell much of that one-third sports franchises stake before the scheduled March spin-off, sources said.
Presently, MSG shareholders are valuing the Knicks and Rangers together at $3.8 billion. If a Knicks stake were sold at a $5 billion valuation, MSG’s share price would shoot from $265, to more than $330 a share, an MSG analyst said.
Revenue for Dolan’s sports teams is around $500 million, the analyst said.
Recent sales of the Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets were each for around 10 times revenue multiples, a sports investment banker said.