Steve Ballmer to buy LA Clippers for $2 billion

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-sn-clippers-sale-ballmer-20140529-story.html

by aaronbrethorst • 12 years ago

34 30 12 years ago

Eduardo3rd• 12 years ago

If the Clippers are worth $2 billion I can't even imagine what the Bulls, Lakers, or Heat would cost on the open market. I wonder if the increase in value over the past few decades relates to the fact that live sporting events drive such a huge premium in today's consume at your own pace media culture.

MisterBastahrd4• 12 years ago

Lakers? More. Others? Not as much. The only other NBA team worth that kinda scratch is the Knicks. Ballmer WAY overpaid for a second tier team that happened to be in a prime market. He should seriously consider renaming and rebranding it as soon as possible.

sehr• 12 years ago

second tier team

* Finished with the 4th best record in the league

* Made it to the 2nd round of the Western playoffs

* Have arguably the best PG in the game

* Have the biggest bandwagon next to Portland & GSW

The future is blindingly bright for these guys, and you want them to rebrand. Please

hkmurakami3• 12 years ago

Pretty sure the Celtics would bring in a decent number, given their storied past?

eddieroger2• 12 years ago

The Heat are the reigning dynasty with three of the best players in the league on one team surrounded by an all-star cast. They'd at least tie the Lakers in cost. But yeah, the Clippers are second-tier relative to some of the talent out there, I agree with that.

coralreef2• 12 years ago

I doubt the Heat and Bulls are as much as the Lakers/Clippers. Sports revenue is highly dependent on the size of the city's media market.

Live TV broadcasting rights are getting into the billions for some teams.

Edd314159• 12 years ago

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if the Clippers are the most valuable franchise in the NBA right now (or second to the Lakers). They're in a massive (albeit shared) market, have (part of) one of the best arenas in the league and are in the midst of a resurgence with some of the best players in the world. The Knicks and the Nets would also be way up there. The Heat, though successful and highly marketable, are in a relatively tiny market in Miami.

smokinjoe• 12 years ago

Fairly wild given that I don't believe Staples Center is part of the deal. A lot of what drives prices up for sports teams (most evident in the NFL) is tying a Stadium along with the team.

qq66• 12 years ago

It's hard to say what any team is worth based on a transaction, since they're often bought as luxury goods and not as financial investments. Steve Ballmer wanted the team, so he bought it. I don't think he cares whether he can resell it for $2 billion.

nlh• 12 years ago

What's remarkable about this whole affair is that when all is said and done, one can step back and see the following:

A guy bought an NBA team for $12.5 million in 1981, made some horribly racist remarks in 2014, and then realized a 160x return on his investment because of those remarks and the attention they brought to the team.

Quite a world we live in, eh?

coralreef2• 12 years ago

Well the valuation was always there, not sure his how his racist remarks helped realize the gains aside from forcing him to sell.

baddox• 12 years ago

That analysis is deeply flawed. He didn't realize a 160x return because of those remarks. I highly doubt that those remarks increased the value of the team.

castis• 12 years ago

Correlation does not imply causation

jhonovich• 12 years ago

It's a 16.6% CAGR - very good, but less astronomical than looking at simply the multiple of the original purchase amount.

simulate• 12 years ago

16.6% CAGR over 33 years is astronomical. Apple, one of the most successful corporations in history, has achieved an 18.95% CAGR since its launch in 1984. $100,000 invested in Apple in 1984 yields $18 million today. You can play with that here: http://forio.com/contour/examples/investment/investment.html

Achieving a double digit CAGR over multiple decades is extremely rare.

ASneakyFox• 12 years ago

He would have made that money anyway. Actually he lost money. If he sold it later it might be worth even more.

pud• 12 years ago

He should rename them to the LA Clippys.

(I know I'm risking downvotes by posting this. But c'mon.)

eddieroger2• 12 years ago

Hi there! It looks like you're trying to play basketball.

hkmurakami3• 12 years ago

Hahaha let me buy you a drink sometime for this comment. It seriously made my day.

fivedogit• 12 years ago

"Get on your feet" should be played with the lineups before each game.

Seriously, though, content is being bifurcated into "live, can't find/steal online" and everything else. The former is apparently worth a lot these days.

sitkack• 12 years ago

What an abject waste of money.

fataliss• 12 years ago

Damn, I think it's one of the best return on investment in the sport industry! As the owner of the team do you get any share of the derived products? I bet it can be quite a nice amount if so, probably nothing compared to the TV contracts though. Question is, can the Clippers generate more than 2B for Steve? Is it a pure buzz/fame investment or real money making machine?

dylan_george• 12 years ago

DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS!

schultkl• 12 years ago

DRIBBLERS! DRIBBLERS! DRIBBLERS! DRIBBLERS! DRIBBLERS! haha ; o )

Steve Ballmer to buy LA Clippers for $2 billion

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