According to Sky report former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has won the bidding war for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers franchise with a $2bn (£1.2bn) offer. If approved by the NBA, it would be a record deal for a basketball team.
The agreement between Mr Ballmer and the Sterling Family Trust was reached on Thursday night.
"I love basketball. And I intend to do everything in my power to ensure that the Clippers continue to win - and win big - in Los Angeles," Mr Ballmer said in a statement. Mr Sterling said his comments to V Stiviano were illegally recorded "LA is one of the world's great cities - a city that embraces inclusiveness, in exactly the same way that the NBA and I embrace inclusiveness."
Mr Ballmer outbid two groups, according to Reuters. LA Clippers players Jamal Crawford, left, and Danny Granger One, led by media mogul David Geffen, offered $1.6bn (£955m) and included TV talk show star Oprah Winfrey and Oracle Corp CEO Larry Ellison.
The other bid was put forth by a group of Los Angeles investors who offered $1.2bn (£717m). Fans protest against Mr Sterling's comments at the Staples Center in April The Clippers came up for sale after the National Basketball Association banned owner Donald Sterling for life because of racist remarks he made in a recorded conversation that was leaked last month to entertainment news website TMZ.com.
The remarks included Sterling telling girlfriend V Stiviano not to bring black people to Clippers games, specifically mentioning Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. Magic Johnson is happy about Mr Ballmer buying the team Mr Sterling, who has vowed to fight the NBA's punishment, insists he is not a racist and says his statements were made during an argument and were recorded illegally.
He has authorised his estranged wife Shelly, a co-owner of the team, to review the bids.
The former Microsoft executive made more than an hour-long personal visit to Shelly Sterling's Malibu home on Sunday and laid out his plan. Shelly Sterling, centre, reviewed the bids Mr Ballmer's winning bid was raised from an initial $1.8bn (£1bn) offer made earlier in the day.
If approved by Sterling and the NBA, the deal would be second only to the $2.1bn (£1.2bn) paid in 2012 for baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers.
Johnson lauded the deal on his Twitter account: "Steve Ballmer owning the Clippers is a big win for the City of LA and all the people who live in the City of Angels!"
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