Steve Ballmer reportedly to buy Clippers after $2 billion winning bid

Former longtime Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has won the purchase of the Los Angeles Clippers with a $2 billion bid, according to a report.

The news was first reported by the LA Times’ James Rainey.

Tech billionaire Steve Ballmer, who headed Microsoft for 14 years, has won bidding for the @LAClippers at a record $2 billion. Story soon.

— James Rainey (@LATimesrainey) May 29, 2014

CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell reported that at least three bids ranging from $1.2-$1.8 billion came in before Ballmer won the bidding with his $2 billion bid.

CBS News has learned at least three bids have come in for the LA Clippers, ranging from 1.2-1.8 billion dollars

— Norah O'Donnell (@NorahODonnell) May 29, 2014

The lawyer for Donald Sterling’s wife said that they had been offered $2.5 billion for the team. Looks like that figure was high, but not by too much. $2 billion is a lot of cheddar for the franchise, but like I said before, the demand for such a desirable team filled with legitimate stars and located in such a desirable city was sure to drive bidding higher than expected.

The Times says Ballmer beat out groups led by David Geffen and also the Guggenheim Group, which is the same crew that recently purchased the Dodgers. The $2 billion figure is just below the $2.1 billion the Guggenheim Group paid for the Dodgers.