The Shanghai Sharks have been sold to the Shanghai Jiushi Group, with Yao Ming exiting the team. According to reports, the Shanghai Jiushi Group acquired the team for a price of over 500 million yuan. Yao Ming purchased the team in 2009 for 20 million yuan and sold 40% of the shares to four companies, including CMC and Everbright Capital Investment, in 2016. Earlier this year, Yao Ming bought back those shares. The Shanghai Sharks were founded in 1996 and have won the Chinese Basketball Association championship once. The team will be renamed the Shanghai Jiushi Basketball Club, with Fan Jianlin as the new legal representative. Yao Ming's wife, Ye Li, and the team's former general manager, Zhang Mingji, have left the board, and former vice general manager Qian Anke will become the new general manager. Yao Ming, a former player for the NBA's Houston Rockets, became the chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association in February 2017 and also became the chairman of the CBA League Beijing Sports in July of the same year. Under Yao Ming's leadership, the Shanghai Sharks achieved some success, but the team still faces many challenges. The team's new leader, Fan Jianlin, has stated that they will work to improve the team's strength and strive for better results. The Shanghai Jiushi Group has assets worth over 400 billion yuan and will increase investment in the team. Yao Ming said the move was designed to help him avoid being an athlete and a referee at the same time. The team's former players, including Yao Ming, have expressed their support for the new ownership and leadership.