Bobcats To Have New Owner By Day's End? (SportingNews.com)

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-bobcatstohavenewowne&prov=tsn&type=lgns

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The Charlotte Bobcats could be under new ownership within the next three days and possibly by the end of today, the Charlotte Observer reports.

Newspaper sources say Bobcats managing partner Michael Jordan or ex-Houston Rockets president George Postolos are close to completing a deal with majority owner Bob Johnson.

Postolos, who has pursued owning the Bobcats since at least last spring, made a purchase offer in early February, and Jordan had until the end of this month to match the offer. Jordan was still recruiting partners this week to invest $260 million or more to complete the purchase of Charlotte’s NBA franchise, according to the Observer.

NBA Commissioner David Stern told the Observer on Feb. 13 that he anticipated a Bobcats sale to be completed within 60 days.

Johnson has lost tens of millions on the team since agreeing in 2002 to pay a $300 million expansion fee to the NBA, the newspaper reports. Most of the team’s net value is still tied up in debt, and the sale price is expected to be considerably less than Johnson’s initial investment — the $300 million to the NBA, plus about $30 million in working capital.