INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pacers confirmed Thursday evening the sale of a 15% stake in the franchise to billionaire DePauw graduate Steven Rales -- giving him 20% ownership -- but said very little about why the sale was made. IndyStar spoke to an expert on NBA values to try to address some of the questions the sale created.

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Principal owner and chairman Herb Simon called Rales "a good friend" with "strong Hoosier ties" in a released statement and reiterated that the Simon family would maintain full control of the franchise. The statement did say, to assuage any concerns that the sale might lead to a franchise move, "The Simon family is as committed to Indiana today as we have been since we moved here from New York in the 1960's." After the statement's release, Danny Lopez, the Pacers' vice president for external affairs and corporate communications, declined the IndyStar's request for an interview with either of the two men and said there would be no further information beyond the statement.

So for now, the questions about why the sale happened and what it specifically means for the future of the franchise remain unanswered.

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The Pacers sale combined with Mark Cuban's sale of his majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks to the Adelson and Dumont families last month is a sign that some long-time owners are looking to see the profits from their stakes in NBA franchises and more entities are looking to buy in.

"Long-time owners have seen a great appreciation in the value of the teams," said Mike Ozanian, an assistant managing editor at Forbes who focuses on the intersection of sports and money. "So if you sell a small piece, it's one way to capitalize on the appreciation in value without giving up control."

In the Simon family's case, there has been an overwhelming amount of appreciation in the franchise. Herb and his brother Melvin bought the Pacers in 1983 for a figure somewhere between $10 and $11 million. (Forbes uses $10.5 million as the figure.) Now, Ozanian and Forbes value the Pacers at $2.9 billion and according to reporting from Sportico, Rales' purchase was made at a valuation of $3.47 billion, meaning he had to pay the Simon family about $510 million for his new shares; approximately $75 million more than the Forbes' value.

Did Herb Simon need an influx of cash?

Simon's overall business empire still appears to be doing quite well. Simon Property Group has rebounded well since the COVID-19 pandemic with a stock price at $130.77 per share as of Monday afternoon with $5.3 billion in revenue, $33.3 billion in assets and $2.2 billion in profits on its sheet for 2023, according to Forbes.

Why would Steven Rales want to increase his ownership of the Pacers?

Buying in gives Rales another asset in an already diverse collection. Rales founded the Danaher Corporation, a life sciences company that is the primary driver of his wealth, but he also founded the Indian Paintbrush movie production company which has worked frequently with director Wes Anderson.

"The people buying these teams, the attraction and the belief is that the values are going to continue to go up," Ozanian said. "Thats No. 1. No. 2, for those who have a lot of wealth, it's a good way to diversify their assets. If you want to go beyond owning stocks or bonds or real estate, it's a good way to diversify your portfolio beyond the traditional types of investments. There have been very few times in history where, as a league, values have gone down. There have been very few teams where the person who has bought the team has subsequently sold it for less than they paid. That's something that appeals to people buying these."

Is ownership of the Pacers going to change hands?

There is the obvious question as to what this means for a succession scenario for the 89-year-old Simon. Ozanian noted that selling shares of this size can in some cases be the beginning of a plan for an owner to get the family out of the business and not pass it on if the family doesn't want to maintain the franchise. However, Herb's son Steve has already been working as an ownership partner and will eventually inherit the team.

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Increasing Rales' share does mean that the Simons will have another well-funded partner to work with.

"You could bring in another partner who may have capital and may have resources you can use to be able to grow the franchise," Ozanian said. "They may have an expertise in real estate or sponsorships, whatever the case may be. Other outside people could not just bring in money, but they could be bringing in expertise in other areas."

However, Ozanian also said that sometimes when an investor buys in at a higher evaluation rate than the team is generally considered to be worth, as Rales did, that often means that investor will get the first chance to take over majority control if the family decides to put it up for sale.

"They can buy a 20% stake, but part of the agreement in that purchase could be that they might have the right of first refusal to buy the remaining portion of the team when it comes up for sale," Ozanian said. "That happens sometimes too. That could impact the price."

For now, Herb Simon and his family retain full control and there is no sign that they intend to cede it but Rales' purchase likely provides a pathway out if they ever decide to take one.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers sale: Why Herb Simon sold 15% of the Pacers to Steven Rales