A Russian billioniare is now the owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team.
Forest City Ratner, developer of the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, has closed the deal with Mikhail Prokhorov for an 80 percent controlling interest in the team.
Prokhorov's company paid $200-million dollars for the team and a share of the proposed Barclays Center where the Nets will play ball.
Charles Ratner, the developer, calls the deal "a major step forward for Brooklyn, the Nets and Atlantic Yards."
The NBA board of governors approved the sale.
The basketball arena and the Nets are the centerpiece of the Atlantic Yards development that will cover 22-acres in downtown Brooklyn and will include residential and commercial space.
