Signs that Lebron is Staying in Cleveland? Chinese Investor Buys Cavs.

If Lebron James desires massive endorsement deals in China, he just might be staying put in Cleveland.

In a story just released by Darren Rovell and CNBC, The Cleveland Cavaliers have reached a deal to sell a minority stake in the team to an investor from China. Cavaliers vice chairman David Katzman — whose Camelot Ventures group owns 15 percent — told CNBC that this deal is expected to be approved by the end of the year by the NBA’s board of governors.

Katzman would not say how much the lead investor, Chinese businessman and philanthropist Albert Hung, paid for the deal, but Forbes recently valued the whole team at $476 million. Katzman did say, however, that the deal was a cash deal and therefore did not involve any financing.

Hung’s investment is a landmark, marking the first Chinese ownership partner in an NBA team.

“This is a great milestone for ownership in general,” said Katzman, who along with three other partners helped buy the Cavaliers with Dan Gilbert for $375 million in 2005.

The potential for massive Chinese endorsement deals is unfathomable for Lebron James.  With the emergence of players like Yao Ming, China has become a huge hotbed for NBA fans.  One has to wonder if Chinese investor Albert Hung knows something we don’t as it relates to Lebron James’ decision to resign with the Cavs.

Katzman said the team doubled revenues since 2005 and the new partner is expected to help make the Cavaliers even more money. Katzman said that Hung has many connections in China and sponsorships of the team by Chinese companies are expected to rise.

“The process is ongoing,” NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre said of the deal. “We expect it to be presented to and voted upon by the Board of Governors in the next month or so.”

Hung’s stake will represent the second largest stake in the franchise.

Just this past September, Russian Billionaire  Mikhail Prokhorov bought a majority stake in the New Jersey Nets.  It will be interesting to monitor the emergence of international sports ownership, especially within the NBA, clearly the United States’ most international flavored sport.