Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer submitted a winning bid to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers franchise, according to a report from The Los Angeles Times.
The bid was for $2 billion, which would mark a record for the sale of an NBA franchise and top the previous high by nearly 400 percent, and was enough to win him the team. That figure also reportedly includes the team's practice facility in Playa Vista, but no other real estate is involved.
From the report:
Ballmer, who was chief executive of Microsoft for 14 years, was chosen over competitors that included Los Angeles-based investors Tony Ressler and Steve Karsh and a group that included David Geffen and executives from the Guggenheim Group, the Chicago-based owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
A person with knowledge of the negotiations said the Geffen group bid $1.6 billion and Ressler at $1.2 billion.
ESPN, however, is reporting that negotiations are still ongoing, though that may not mean the reported agreement and sale price is incorrect, just that the details have not been finalized.
The reported sale price comes in just shy of the $2.1 billion the Los Angeles Dodgers sold for in 2012, the record for a North American sports franchise.
The big obstacle remaining, of course, is that the deal needs the approval of Donald Sterling. The sale was coordinated by Shelly Sterling and Bank of America, but Donald Sterling looms as a potential impediment to the process - some suspected he may use the reported sale price as leverage in a lawsuit against the league, but reports of his actual intentions have oscillated.
Donald Sterling's lawyer Max Blecher tells ESPN he has not signed off on any sale
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) May 29, 2014
Sterling's lawyer just told me, in Sterling's driveway, "My belief is he will not sell this team."
— Andrea Chang (@byandreachang) May 29, 2014
Donald Sterling had previously authorized Shelly Sterling to sell the team on his behalf but later "disavowed" that agreement, leading to the question marks.
The deal would then need to be approved by the NBA's Board of Governors, who currently have a hearing on the Sterling situation scheduled for June 3. That could be pushed back if they need further time to vet the sale and Ballmer, though that process has reportedly already begun.
Ballmer, who left Microsoft in February and previously tried to purchase the Sacramento Kings as part of a group led by Chris Hansen, is said to have a net worth of $20 billion and has not immediately sought out partners for the purchase. Despite previous interest in bringing a team to Seattle, Ballmer is on record as saying he'll keep the Clippers in Los Angeles if he were to purchase them.
For those who may be upset at the ridiculous profit Sterling is set to earn - he bought the team for $12.5 million, meaning he's making a profit of roughly $1.9875 billion - should recognize that Sterling already made this money, and the somewhat forced sale of the team is merely his asset being liquidated (and taxed heavily).
