Ex-Microsoft CEO Ballmer buys NBA's LA Clippers for $2 billion

(Reuters) - Former Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) CEO Steve Ballmer has purchased the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers franchise for $2 billion, a record for a professional basketball team, sole trustee Shelly Sterling announced on Friday.

In a news release from Greenberg Glusker, Sterling's counsel, she said she had signed a binding contract to sell the team to Ballmer on behalf of the The Sterling Family Trust, which owns the club.

"I am delighted that we are selling the team to Steve, who will be a terrific owner. We have worked for 33 years to build the Clippers into a premiere NBA franchise. I am confident that Steve will take the team to new levels of success."

The agreement will need to be approved by the National Basketball Association's Board of Governors before it is finalized. The NBA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

"I will be honored to have my name submitted to the NBA Board of Governors for approval as the next owner of the Los Angeles Clippers.  I love basketball," Ballmer said in a statement. "And I intend to do everything in my power to ensure that the Clippers continue to win – and win big – in Los Angeles."