Terry Semel, the former boss at Warner Bros. and Yahoo!, was the secret runner-up in the battle to buy the Nets.
Brooklyn-born Semel was beaten at the buzzer by Russian playboy billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, who offered to pay for the arena being built in Brooklyn as well as the team in a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But sources say Semel, who divides his time between New York and Los Angeles, had hoped to be at most of the games as the new owner.
A friend of Semel — who has concentrated on running his investment company Windsor Media after leaving Yahoo! in 2007 — told Page Six: “Terry loves basketball and saw this as a great way to give something back to Brooklyn.
“He spent some time looking into the deal and was working out how he could change his schedule to be at the games. But he never got to make a formal offer because the prices were so high. Prokhorov had already offered to buy both the arena and the team.
“Terry, who only wanted the team, had to stand aside. He was disappointed but he’s pleased that Prokhorov is committed to basketball. Hopefully he’ll be at the games.”
Prokhorov — who is 6-foot-7 and the richest man in Russia — agreed to pay $200 million upfront and an unspecified amount in the future for the majority stake in the New Jersey NBA team. The investment will build an arena and push forward current owner Bruce Ratner‘s Atlantic Yards project.
Worth an estimated $9.5 billion, Prokhorov, 44, is Russia’s most eligible bachelor and is reported to have dated beauties including supermodel Naomi Campbell.
He divides his time between Moscow, St. Tropez and French ski resort Courchevel, where he was busted in 2007 for allegedly hiring hookers to service his guests. Prokhorov said he thought they were students and models and was released uncharged.