Comcast Looks At Sixers Sale

Comcast-Spectacor is in talks with an investor group to sell the NBA’s 76ers but the deal does not include the Philadelphia team’s home, Wells Fargo Center.

Comcast-Spectacor has owned the Sixers since 1996. A person told Associated Press June 7, on condition of anonymity, the sale could take place within a week. The source requested anonymity because the deal with the group led by New York-based leveraged buyout specialist Joshua Harris was not complete.

Harris is one of the founders of Apollo Global Management. A 76ers sale is estimated to be worth $270 million to $290 million, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko confirmed in a statement that the company was “in discussions about the future of the team” but the discussions were confidential.

Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider has fought a popular notion that he favors his other pro-sports team, hockey’s Flyers, to the 76ers. Snider founded the Flyers in the 1960s and led them to Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and ’75.

“I guess it’s the difference of having your own baby or adopting your child,” Snider once said in an interview. “I’ve adopted the Sixers and I love the Sixers, I really do. But hockey, I started from scratch.”

Comcast-Spectacor floated the sale of the Sixers in 2006, hiring sports investment firm Galatioto Sports Partners to review possible sale proposals and evaluate future strategies.