Episode 36: The LA Clippers
Acquired24 Apr 2017

Episode 36: The LA Clippers

In honor of start of NBA playoffs, Ben & David venture off the beaten path to explore one of Steve Ballmer’s most famous acquisitions, his 2014 purchase of the Los Angeles Clippers NBA franchise. Was this landmark purchase a steal or a turnover for the former Microsoft CEO? We speculate wildly!

Sponsors:


More Acquired!

© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC


Topics covered include:
  • The Clippers’ founding in 1970 as the NBA expansion team the Buffalo Braves
  • Early ownership changes and the move west to San Diego in 1981
  • Acquisition in 1981 by LA lawyer and real estate developer Donald Sterling for $12.5M
  • Sterling's relocation of the Clippers to LA in 1984 against NBA rules
  • Struggles over the next 25 years as the "worst franchise in professional sports” according to ESPN
  • Turnaround beginning in early 2010s led by Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Chris Paul
  • The bombshell in April 2014, reported by TMZ, of a taped conversation between Sterling and his mistress where Sterling makes hugely offensive and racist comments, directed in particular toward former Lakers point guard Magic Johnson
  • Fallout from the comments, resulting in a lifetime ban from NBA for Sterling, and a forced sale of the team to former Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer for $2B
  • Impact of the landmark sale price on NBA and other sports franchise valuations
  • Clippers performance post-sale, and prospects for the future
  • The opportunity for technology and business model innovation in the NBA, and professional sports in general

Followups:

The Carve Out:

Episoder(214)

Season 2, Episode 10: The Rover-DogVacay Merger (with Rover CEO Aaron Easterly)

Season 2, Episode 10: The Rover-DogVacay Merger (with Rover CEO Aaron Easterly)

Acquired wraps up Season 2 with our first “elusive” private-private merger: Rover.com and its 2017 combination with rival pet care marketplace DogVacay. We’re joined by Rover CEO Aaron Easterly to div...

18 Jun 20181h 13min

Season 2, Episode 9: GitHub

Season 2, Episode 9: GitHub

We’re live on the scene the day following the biggest announcement in the open source software world since well, open source software: Microsoft acquiring GitHub for $7.5B in stock. How did we get her...

6 Jun 20181h 31min

Season 2, Episode 8: T-Mobile / Sprint

Season 2, Episode 8: T-Mobile / Sprint

If you thought the telecom business was boring, think again! Acquired brings you an episode packed with more drama than an entire season of Game of Thrones. Starting with a death in the family, we fol...

21 Mai 20181h 28min

Season 2, Episode 7: PowerPoint

Season 2, Episode 7: PowerPoint

Acquired returns with a classic, delving into Microsoft’s first acquisition ever: Forethought Inc, the makers of PowerPoint. Hate it or love it, you can’t deny the combined companies’ impact: by the e...

4 Mai 20181h 21min

Season 2, Episode 6: Spotify’s Direct Listing

Season 2, Episode 6: Spotify’s Direct Listing

Acquired wraps up a big few weeks of coverage with not an IPO or an M&A or a fundraising round, but what’s still the largest tech exit in recent memory: Spotify’s $30B direct public listing. We dive i...

6 Apr 20181h 51min

Season 2, Episode 5: The Dropbox IPO

Season 2, Episode 5: The Dropbox IPO

Acquired is live on the scene following Dropbox’s public market debut. From playing a central role in the early days of Y Combinator, to having Steve Jobs famously label the company a “feature not a p...

26 Mar 20181h 44min

Season 2, Episode 4: SoftBank, Fortress and the Vision Fund

Season 2, Episode 4: SoftBank, Fortress and the Vision Fund

Acquired dives into the topic on the minds and lips of just about every VC and founder these days: SoftBank’s $93B+ Vision Fund, and its seemingly-overnight rewriting of the rules of venture capital a...

23 Mar 20181h 35min

Season 2, Episode 3: Nest

Season 2, Episode 3: Nest

Acquired brings it all back home—to the smart home that is—with Google’s 2014 acquisition of Nest for $3.2B. From Nest cofounder Tony Fadell’s first job at General Magic (alongside future Android foun...

20 Feb 20181h 39min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
e24-podden
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
pengepodden-2
pengesnakk
finansredaksjonen
rss-politisk-preik
utbytte
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
rss-markedspuls-2
rss-sunn-okonomi
lederpodden
rss-pa-konto
okonomiamatorene