 Finally, in 1997, COMSAT agreed in principle to sell Ascent to Liberty Media.However, Liberty was not interested in sports ownership at the time (though it has since purchased Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves), and made the deal contingent upon Ascent selling the Avalanche and Nuggets.After almost two years, Ascent sold the Avalanche and Nuggets to Wal-Mart heirs Bill and Nancy Laurie for $400 million.