With Ice Cube’s BIG3 planning to go public, the sports league is seeking a massive $290 million valuation.
On Friday (June 12), the 3×3 league co-founded by Ice Cube that gives former NBA hoopers more life in their basketball bones, announced it has reached a deal with a special purpose acquisition company, Graf Global Corp.
The new deal will allow fans to purchase stock in the league under TONT (three-on-three) beginning in the fourth quarter of the year.
According to Business Wire, the company is seeking a $290 million valuation.
“You can’t participate in the upside of the team besides winning,” Ice Cube said when speaking about the deal. “And we need the fans for the league to be successful, so it’s a match made in heaven.”
“We are excited for BIG3 to be the first publicly traded professional sports league in the US,” Cube continued in a statement. “Leading a new generation of emerging sports, BIG3 connects basketball to culture, fans, and our team communities. Going public is our next step.”
BIG3 co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz also spoke on the new deal, adding, “Everything is coming together this year.”
“We are excited to partner with Cube, Jeff, and their team to bring BIG3 to the public markets,” James Graf, CEO of Graf Global Corp., said. “There are few, if any, opportunities for public markets investors to own equity directly in professional sports leagues or teams. We believe such investments may deliver uncorrelated returns over time, especially seeing the appreciation of team values and the growth of sports advertising across media.”
BIG3’s BIG Comes On The Heels of The New Season Starting
The news of the league going public comes on the heels of the BIG3 starting its ninth season on June 20 in Los Angeles, with four games: Detroit Amps vs. DMV Trilogy, LA Riot vs. Miami 305, Houston Rig Hands vs. Chicago Triplets, and Dallas Power vs. Boston Ball Hogs.
“We need to plant our roots in cities so we can be more than a rolling all-star game coming through, “Cube continued. “It’s really about growing the sport and the league.”
Well, it looks like Cube and his BIG3 have BIG plans for his league going forward.
