Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is close to completing a $2 billion deal to buy the LA Clippers from racist owner Donald Sterling, in what would be the highest price paid for a team in NBA history, sources said.
The disgraced basketball boss’ wife, Shelly, accepted the software exec’s huge offer after a bidding war involving several other top-notch investment groups.
Shelly has been working closely with the NBA to unload the team, but the sale won’t be final until Donald signs off.
A source close to the negotiations said it’s unclear what Donald’s next move will be, but Shelly is “trying to persuade Donald to approve the sale.”
The NBA has made it clear that if there is not a signed agreement by Tuesday, the league will take possession of the team, sources said.
If approved by Donald Sterling, the deal would make history as the highest NBA franchise sale price ever, beating the $550 million paid for the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this month.
Shelly Sterling received five other offers between $1 billion and $2 billion.
The deal has to be approved by three-quarters of the NBA’s other 29 owners.
While Sterling’s lawyer told the LA Times Thursday that there can be “no sale without Donald’s signature,” ESPN reported that Sterling has been declared “mentally incapacitated” by medical experts and has lost control over the family trust.
That would mean his signature would not be required to finalize the $2 billion deal.
Last year, the NBA rejected Ballmer’s and hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen’s bid to purchase the Sacramento Kings and move the team to Seattle.
Ballmer, who is worth $20 billion, said he has no plans to move the Clippers to Washington state.
Other offers have come from a group including former NBA star Grant Hill, which bid $1.2 billion, and a group from Guggenheim Partners.
Sterling bought the Clippers for just $12.5 million in 1981 and is now the league’s longest-tenured owner.