Steve Ballmer's bid to purchase the Clippers closed Tuesday
after the entry of an order by a California court confirmed the authority of
Shelly Sterling to sell the team on behalf of the Sterling Family Trust, the
league announced.
The Clippers scored their biggest victory by ridding
themselves of Donald Sterling and ushering in a new era under Steve Ballmer,
Arash Markazi writes. Story
Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO, bid $2 billion for the
Clippers in May but wasn't able to complete the sale until Tuesday's written
court order affirmed Shelly Sterling's authority to sell the franchise without
the consent of her husband, Donald Sterling.
"It's very, very exciting. I'm a basketball nut,"
Ballmer said in an interview with ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. "I've got time.
I love Los Angeles. I love Seattle, too, which is where we have our home. But
the notion of spending a lot of time in Los Angeles has been exciting to me for
years. The community down there is great. I look forward to supporting the
community, the fan base, the staff, Doc [Rivers] and the players to take this
thing to higher heights."
Ballmer acknowledged there were some frustrating moments
while the sale of the franchise was delayed by court proceedings but said he
remained confident he'd be able to complete it.
"My job has been to complete the deal and there were a
lot of people, including me, working on it for a long time," Ballmer said.
"Was I kind of itchy? Sure. But I knew the only thing I could do or should
do was complete the final deal, and we were able to do that this morning."
The NBA's board of governors interviewed Ballmer on July 15,
and then took a vote electronically last week in which he was unanimously
approved as an owner, sources told Shelburne.
Ballmer decided he would complete the sale as soon as
Superior Court Judge Michael Levanas' written order came in, which occurred at
11:30 a.m. ET Tuesday.
"We were ready," Adam Streisand, Ballmer's
attorney, said. "Within minutes, the deal was signed, sealed and delivered."
Ballmer plans to travel to Los Angeles later this week and
have dinner with the team, then meet with Clippers employees and fans at an
event Monday.
Ballmer's takeover of the Clippers follows weeks of legal
tussling between Shelly and Donald Sterling, the 80-year-old billionaire whom
the NBA banned earlier this year for making offensive remarks about blacks.
Donald Sterling's attorneys filed a writ of mandate Tuesday
in appeals court requesting the reversal of the order confirming Shelly
Sterling's authority to conduct the sale. Shelly Sterling's attorneys then
filed an opposition to the petition, calling it "frivolous."
However, sources also told Shelburne that attorneys for
Donald Sterling and Shelly Sterling recently have been discussing a settlement.
The NBA, meanwhile, has filed a counterclaim in federal
court against Donald Sterling and the Sterling Family Trust, saying he caused
"devastating and incalculable harm" to the league. The counterclaim
was in response to an antitrust lawsuit Sterling filed in June against the NBA
and commissioner Adam Silver seeking $1 billion in damages.
Ballmer was one of at least six bidders to express serious
interest in owning the Clippers, who were bought in 1981 by Sterling for $12.5
million. The three highest bids were $1.2 billion from a group including former
NBA player Grant Hill and Los Angeles businessmen Bruce Karsh and Tony Ressler;
$1.6 billion from a group fronted by music mogul David Geffen; and $2 billion
from Ballmer.
Shelly Sterling signed an agreement to sell the team to
Ballmer on May 29, then was forced to secure a court order to confirm her
authority as sole trustee to go ahead with the sale.
"I am thrilled that the Clippers now have such a
wonderful new owner," said Shelly Sterling, who as part of the deal was
given the title of "Clippers Number One Fan" and "owner
emeritus." "I am happy for the team, the fans, the sponsors and the
city of Los Angeles."
Drafts of the Clippers' sale bid book, given to bidders by
Bank of America and obtained by ESPN.com, revealed that the $2 billion price
would be 12.1 times the expected 2014 revenues of the team. The bid book noted
that the highest previous sale was the record that Ballmer beat, that of the
Milwaukee Bucks, who sold for $550 million this year and a then-record five
times total revenue.
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