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(Bloomberg) — Big3, the 3-on-3 basketball league founded by Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz, has entered into an agreement with a special purpose acquisition company to take the organization public.
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The deal with Graf Global Corp. values the league at $290 million pre-money, with 100% of the existing equity expected to convert to common stock of the combined company at closing. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
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In an interview, Ice Cube, the professional name of O’Shea Jackson, said having the league be publicly traded would give fans a new way to benefit from its success.
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As it stands now, “you can’t participate in the upside of the team besides winning,” he said. “And we need the fans for the league to be successful, so it’s a match made in heaven.”
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Kwatinetz said the move “opens the pool of people who can have exposure to our league.”
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Investors include John P. Angelos, whose family used to own the Baltimore Orioles; Peter Briger, executive chairman of Fortress Investment Group and minority owner of the San Francisco 49ers; Drew McKnight, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Fortress; and Ken Howery, co-founder of PayPal and Founders Fund.
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Big3 has eight teams, with the league owning the franchises in Boston, Chicago, Dallas and the DMV. The remaining four — in Los Angeles, Miami, Detroit and Houston — are owned by independent investors. NBA legend Clyde Drexler serves as the organization’s commissioner.
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The Houston franchise sold in 2024 for $10 million to Eric Mullins, who now runs private equity firm Lime Rock Resources, and Milton Carroll, the former chairman of CenterPoint Energy Inc.
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The league’s ninth season begins on June 20 at the Intuit Dome, home of the Los Angeles Clippers.
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