It looks like there is a buyer for the Clippers. Former Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, has agreed to buy the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 Billion, sources say. Once the ink dries, this will set the record as the biggest NBA deal ever.
Via CNN
The sale, negotiated by Shelly Sterling — co-owner with estranged husband Donald Sterling — will have to be approved at a NBA Board of Governors meeting. It was unclear whether a meeting set for Tuesday will go on, given Thursday’s developments.
The purchase would have to be approved by 75% of the NBA’s 30 owners. Last year they denied a sale to a group that included Ballmer that would have resulted in the Kings moving to Seattle, after the league’s relocation committee recommended keeping the team in Sacramento.
The sale still may have to be approved by Donald Sterling, according to earlier comments by his attorney.
Ballmer is worth $20 billion, according to Forbes magazine. Another source said Ballmer’s offer earlier Thursday was $1.8 billion and Shelly Sterling was hoping to get a price that “started with a two.”
A group that included media moguls David Geffen and Oprah Winfrey also made a bid of $1.6 billion, the source told CNN.
If the deal goes through, it would be the largest sum paid for an NBA franchise. Last month, the Milwaukee Bucks, a bad team in a small television market, sold for $550 million.
