The National Basketball Association Inc. is expanding in Africa through a deal worth $1 billion in its operations on the continent. The move, according to a statement published Monday from the NBA, comes at a time private equity firm Helios Fairfax Partners Corp invested in the new African entity alongside Tunde Folawiyo, chairman of Yinka Folawiyo Group Other investors include former NBA players Dikembe Mutombo, Junior Bridgeman, Luol Deng, Grant Hill and Joakim Noah. Altogether, the investors have acquired an 8% stake, a person familiar with the deal told Bloomberg magazine. The Basketball League Africa, the NBA’s first collaboration on a league outside of North America, is currently playing its inaugural season in Rwanda. The NBA may ultimately play some regular-season games in Africa, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said on Monday. In addition, he said, the NBA plans to spend the cash building infrastructure such as offices, courts and stadiums and work to boost local interaction with fans and talented players, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “There is enormous optimism to bring and generate content directly to-and-from the people, and the expectation is that the explosion of smartphones on the continent is a true game changer,” said Silver. The league’s African operations are currently based in Johannesburg, and it has offices in Senegal. The league drafted nine Nigerian players in 2020, the largest number from Africa to date. The expectation is that even more could come from the continent, with training for young players, referees and coaches.
