Shaquille O’Neal is still keen to buy an NBA basketball team and also wants to get involved in Formula 1.
“I would definitely like to,” O’Neal said Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg at the iConnections Global Alts conference in Miami Beach. “Whatever team is available.”
O’Neal was previously a minority investor in the Sacramento Kings but was forced to sell his stake after becoming a brand ambassador for WynnBET, due to NBA ownership rules. He’s previously stated that, next time around, he’s keen to be a majority owner of an NBA franchise.
Former National Basketball Association players have become significant investors in sports. Last year, Michael Jordan cemented his net worth at an estimated $3.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, after selling his stake in the Charlotte Hornets. LeBron James also owns a minority stake in Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC.
Valuations in NBA teams have skyrocketed. Late last year, Mark Cuban sold a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks to Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s Adelson family, valuing the team at $3.5 billion. Cuban bought the team from H. Ross Perot Jr. in 2000 for $285 million.
A chunk of the Golden State Warriors, the NBA’s most successful team over the past decade, is also up for sale, with a potential valuation of $7 billion.
O’Neal also expressed an interest in investing in F1, “even though I can’t fit in one of those damn cars,” he said.
Investors have been increasing their interest in investing in the motorsport, with teams traditionally owned by a few individuals. Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll recently sold a minority stake in the Aston Martin team to the U.S. private equity firm Arctos Partners.
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