Donald and Shelly Sterling are on the verge losing their prized Los Angeles Clippers. They reportedly could have to settle for $1.8 billion to ease their pain.
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has offered $1.8 billion to purchase the Clippers from the Sterlings, according to Forbes.com.
Of course, the Sterlings are in a rush to sell off the team before the NBA holds a meeting that is expected to result in their ownership being terminated due to Donald Sterling’s racist comments that came to light via a TMZ report of taped conversations between the owner and his then-girlfriend V. Stiviano.
Forbes is reporting that Shelly Sterling, who is heading up the sale, will be following the route that Frank McCourt chose in selling the Los Angeles Dodgers, a blind auction.
Now, of course, this isn't the only serious person of interest that wants to be the next owner of the Clippers. It has been reported that Oprah Winfrey has teamed up with music and film mogul David Geffen along with Larry Ellison to make a run at the team. Also, Billionaire Anthony Ressler is "going to aggressively go after it," a source told the New York Post.
Ressler, who co-founded Apollo Global Management and is chairman of Ares Management, reportedly tried to buy the Dodgers in 2012. His group, which also include includes former NBA star Grant Hill, has bid $1.2 billion for the Clippers, a source told Bloomberg News.
If the team is sold to Ballmer at $1.8 billion, that price would be second to the Dodgers’ sale price of $2 billion. And this is for a franchise that has never won an NBA championship.
The Forbes story suggests that it is not improbable the price will break the $2 billion plateau.
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