“Former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer won a frenetic bidding war for ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers, with his $2-billion offer setting a record price for an NBA team,” James Rainey reports for The Los Angeles Times.
“Ballmer, who was chief executive of Microsoft for 14 years, was chosen over competitors that included Los Angeles-based investors Tony Ressler and Bruce Karsh and a group that included David Geffen and executives from the Guggenheim Group, the Chicago-based owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to three individuals familiar with the negotiations,” Rainey reports. “One of the individuals with knowledge of the negotiations said the Geffen group bid $1.6 billion and Ressler at $1.2 billion. The sale price is almost four times the highest previous NBA franchise sale price — the $550 million paid earlier this month for the Milwaukee Bucks.”
MacDailyNews Take: Leave it to Balmy to wildly overbid.
“The deal also needs the eventual approval of 29 other NBA owners, but is expected to clear that hurdle as long as Ballmer reaffirms his pledge to keep the team in Los Angeles and not move it to Seattle, where he lives,” Rainey reports. “Ballmer, 58, left the software giant in February and has an estimated net worth of $20 billion.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: A match made in perennial loser hell!
Balmy’s proposed logo redesign:
You know the United States of America is an amazing place when a sweaty buffoon can amass $20 billion thanks to the luckiest dorm assignment in history.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “The Other Steve” for the heads up.]
Let the chair-throwing begin!
Will he hire Bobby knight as his head coach?
And I thought 3 billion for two guys and bunch of headphones was a waste of money.
If there’s anything in life that Ballmer has learned to do, it’s to throw away money while funding loser projects.
He’s still the fat, entitled, stupid kid trying to play with the ‘cool guys’.
“You’re on your own, sir. This can only end in tears.” – Bartok
Funded by many blue screens of death. Clippy is the perfect mascot!
Actually, the Blue Screen of Death is the name of the Clippys’ new defensive strategy!
That is truly a hilarious logo. I really hope it gets used a lot. Of course it won’t be official, but…
Begin Sarcasm: We want Donald Sterling back! /End Sarcasm
It should be interesting to see how many twirls around the toilet the Clippers get before they flush completely.
“Retire” from Microsoft after making that company a joke and buy a team from a racist jerk. I like his strategy. I like it a lot.
hopefully he won’t do for the NBA what he did for Microsoft
The sale to Balmer is an insult to white Americans due to his buffoonery. Owners, please vote to deny this sale to Ballmer. I don’t want the BSOD to appear on my TV when I’m watching the games.
And Lakers fans rejoiced . . .
Yes we do.
Jeez, I hope he decides to sit court side … You just KNOW that Monkeyboy is gonna dance!
Oh my, he’s back ! We’ll all be able to watch o’l sweaty balls every weekend during the NBA season. Yay !!!
Come on, we’ve all missed the baldy old galoot. It might be worth it to get cable just to see Steve.
Ummm, nah
Love the logo :))
Hell, he may be the halftime show at home games.
And I was just beginning to enjoy the Clippers and CP. Here comes the Jerry jones of the basketball world! I doubt they make the playoffs next year.
Ballmer on the team’s plans to win the NBA championship:
“I like our strategy. I like it a lot.”
Awww, Monkey Boy is just trying to compete with Paul Allen. It ain’t gonna work, but it’ll be fun to watch.
$500 for a phone is too much, but I guess $2B for a basketball team is OK.
$600. I know I bought the original iPhone on day one.
Months later Apple issued a $100 rebate to be used at an Apple store and bought a printer that still works.
But Ballmer SAID “$500 for a phone!” I guess Ballmer was wrong (as usual). 🙂
Correct sir. And wrong as usual.
CLIPPERS!! CLIPPERS!! CLIPPERS!!
He’s going to ban iPhones and iPads in the locker room and give all the players Zunes.
He may even ban any iPhones (or any Apple products) in the stadium when Clippers are playing. At least he will try for sure!
no offense to the players but it seems for the Clippers team the OWNERS are ones who are the most entertaining….
we’ll watch Ballmer “Windows 8” a NBA team.
Clippy and the Clippers. Best MDN take ever. Truly inspired! Love it!
I’m taking this as a positive: now he has 2 billion less to spend on buying a tech firm, so he can’t screw up like he screwed up MS.
Ballmer’s wife to Ballmer: “I have four words for you.”
“What. Did. You. Do!”
Ballmer’s explanation “They told me we’ll get free tickets”.
I am sure there are brilliant people at Micro$oft, but Ballmer may have been the smartest of all. He figured out a way to build sub par commodity junk, nearly tear the company to pieces, hand over the keys to the house to Apple, and still managed to amass a fortune. Frankly, I wish he would have stayed longer, 2 more years and the moron would have run the company into the ground. At least the Clippers will be using Windows 8 and the FUD Windows phones. Good luck down there boys – and remember – DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS!!!!
For $2 Billion he could have gotten an NFL franchise for LA and a stadium to boot.
Give it 20 years and then tell me he overpaid at 2 billion
Could have been worse.
He could have bought a crapy headphone company for 3 Billion.
Too true!
It could have been worse – they could have bought a thermostat and smoke detector spyware company for >$3 billion.
*he could have bought
Best lead I’ve read about this story,
“Remember the good old days when it cost nothing but maybe a little self-respect to care about the Clippers.”
T.J. Simers, OC Register Sports Columnist
Let the Microsoft jokes begin…’Clippers running very sluggish’, ‘Clips freeze under pressure’, ‘The team needs a reboot after last night’s loss’, ‘Recent upgrades lead to compatibility issues’, etc. This was fun.