Boston Celtics minority partner Joe Lacob and Mandalay Entertainment chairman Peter Gruber have won the bid to buy the NBA's Golden State Warriors for a record price.
Boston Celtics minority partner Joe Lacob and Mandalay Entertainment chairman Peter Gruber have won the bid to buy the NBA's Golden State Warriors for a record price.
"I am incredibly excited to have the opportunity to be the next steward of this storied NBA franchise. This is my dream come true," said Lacob, who is also the managing partner with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
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"Peter and I intend to do what we do best - innovating and building. It is our passion to return the Warriors to greatness and build nothing short of a championship organization that will make all of us in the Bay Area proud."
CNBC financial news network first reported the sale. The agreed price of 450 million dollars surpasses the previous record paid for an NBA franchise - 401 million dollars paid by Robert Sarver for the Phoenix Suns in 2004.
Lacob and Guber beat out Oracle chief Larry Ellison, who had been considered the favorite to buy the team from Chris Cohan.
Ellison said in a statement he was surprised he wasn't able to make a deal because he made the highest offer.
"Although I was the highest bidder, Chris Cohan decided to sell to someone else," he said. "In my experience this is a bit unusual. Nonetheless, I wish the Warriors and their fans nothing but success under their new ownership."
Cohan bought the club in 1995 for 119 million dollars. The franchise was valued at 315 million dollars by Forbes in December of last year.
The Warriors have made the playoffs only once since Cohan bought the team.
In 2007 they became the first eighth-seeded team to beat a top seed in a best-of-seven series, but fell in the next round.
They won 48 games in the 2008 regular season but didn't make the postseason, and languished again over the past two seasons as they amassed a total of only 55 wins for both.
The sale must still be approved by three-quarters of the NBA Board of Governors. Lacob will also have to sell his interest in the Celtics.
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