The Donald Sterling era looks set to be officially over in Los Angeles as former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer won out among a crowded field to become the Clippers new owner, the Los Angeles Times reports. The deal still needs to get signed off on by Sterling himself and approval from the other 29 NBA owners. Here’s more on the deal from the Times:
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…The prospective sale by Clippers co-owner Shelly Sterling comes five days ahead of an NBA hearing to oust her family from ownership following a controversy in which Donald Sterling insulted African-Americans in a secret audio recording.
