Beijing (PingWest)- Joseph Tsai, the billionaire co-founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, is finalizing a deal to buy 51% stake in Brooklyn nets from controlling owner Mikhali Prokhorov.

The expected USD2.35 billion purchase price of the NBA team would be the highest price ever paid for a sports franchise.

The 55-year-old Alibaba co-founder who helped Jack Ma to build Alibaba into Asia’s biggest e-commerce company, purchased 49 percent of Brooklyn net in May 2018. Josepha Tsai will take full ownership of Brooklyn nets once the deal complete.