Ballmer reportedly offers $1.8 billion for Clippers

Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has put in a $1.8 billion bid for the Los Angeles Clippers, Forbes reported Thursday.

Reports indicated that Shelly Sterling set a 5 p.m. Wednesday deadline on bids to be entered.

Ballmer was once part of an unsuccessful bid to acquire the Sacramento Kings and move the team to Seattle. He retired as Microsoft’s CEO four months ago and has a reported net worth of $20 billion.

Forbes also reported that Shelly Sterling has thus far received offers between $1 billion and $2 billion.

Donald Sterling bought the Clippers in 1981 for $12.5 million.

NBA owners are voting June 3 to force he and his wife to sell the team due to racist comments made by him in private that were taped and then made public.

Donald Sterling had given authority to his wife to sell the team after the NBA banned him for life and fined him $2.5 million for his racially insensitive comments.

A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in New York where the other 29 team owners will vote on whether to force a sale of the team after hearing from Sterling. A forced sale would require three-quarters approval from the owners.

Other interested groups for the Clippers include music mogul David Geffen, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Oprah Winfrey as well as Guggenheim executives Todd Boehly and Mark Walter, Steve Jobs widow Laurene Jobs, Steve Wynn’s ex-wife Elaine Wynn and Beats By Dre co-founder Jimmy Iovine, ESPN reported.

Another group is NBA All-Star Grant Hill and billionaire investors Tony Ressler and Bruce Karsh, ESPN said.

But Donald Sterling has vowed not to go down without a fight.

Sterling said Tuesday that there was no grounds for taking the team from him and that his racially insensitive statements came during a lover’s quarrel.