BRHornet45
01-05-2011, 11:53 PM
Ellison tried to buy New Orleans Hornets but dampens hopes of NBA team in San Jose
SAN FRANCISCO — Larry Ellison, the billionaire CEO of Oracle who's had extraordinary success buying a string of tech companies, confirmed Wednesday that he recently failed in a second attempt to buy a professional basketball franchise, less than six months after his surprising loss in a bidding war for the Golden State Warriors.
"I did offer $350 million" for the New Orleans Hornets, Ellison told reporters, adding that he was "slightly outbid" by the National Basketball Association when the league bought the bankrupt team last month from owners George Shinn and Gary Chouest.
Ellison's comments put a damper on the hope floated in a Forbes blog post that he planned to buy the team and move it to San Jose. The prospect was warmly greeted by San Jose officials, intrigued with the notion of another pro franchise moving to the city but Ellison flatly said the report was "not true.''
Ellison later told the Mercury News that he had not made up his mind about what to do with the Hornets, had he been able to buy them. "I was trying to buy the team first, and then figure out what I was going to do with it," he said.
Still, the news that Ellison made an offer for the team demonstrated that the world's sixth richest man, an avowed sports enthusiast, is undeterred by his failed effort to gain control of the Warriors.
Ellison, whose Oracle racing team won the America's Cup sailing trophy last year, spoke Wednesday during a press
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conference called by Ellison and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to celebrate the team's decision to stage the next America's Cup regatta in San Francisco Bay in 2013.
The tech tycoon, whose Redwood City company is one of the biggest commercial software makers in the world, also owns the rights to operate a major professional tennis tournaments, the BNP Paribas Open, which is scheduled to be held in Southern California this March.
Ellison is known for his ultra-competitive approach to business, often buying rival companies and publicly boasting of his intentions to beat others in the marketplace. But despite his zeal to win, the 66-year-old Ellison has not yet achieved his longheld ambition to become a professional football or basketball team owner.
Many in the sports world considered him the logical candidate to buy the Warriors when former owner Chris Cohan put the team up for sale last year. Ellison made an offer but was outbid when a group led by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Joseph Lacob put together a deal for $450 million.
Ellison later complained that he had submitted a higher bid than Lacob, but a Cohan representative said Ellison's final offer came too late in the process.
There was some similar confusion about the Hornets bidding on Wednesday. While Ellison said he offered $350 million for the team and was "slightly outbid," some news reports last month suggested the league itself paid a lower price than that.
Some news outlets said the NBA paid $300 million. However, ESPN reported that, while league commissioner David Stern wouldn't disclose the price, Stern said the team was worth "in excess of $300 million."
Word of Ellison's interest in the Hornets didn't surface until Wednesday when Forbes blogger Mike Ozanian said a "source" suggested Ellison would buy the Hornets for about $300 million and then pay the Warriors an additional $150 million for the legal right to operate a second NBA franchise in the Bay Area.
Ozanian said his source suggested the Hornets could become roommates with the San Jose Sharks and play home games at the HP Pavilion.
Sharks executive Malcolm Bordelon said Wednesday that he was aware of the speculation and that the Sharks' owners were "by all means" interested in sharing the arena with a pro basketball team.
"From a facilities standpoint and from a downtown business standpoint, it makes complete sense," said Bordelon, the Sharks' executive vice president of business operations. But he added that the Sharks have had "virtually no discussions" with Ellison, "though we are obviously open to having those discussions."
The Warriors, however, appeared to view the prospect dimly. In an emailed statement, Lacob suggested that it wouldn't make business sense for Ellison to pay $450 million and still have to share the Bay Area market with the Warriors.
Lacob also seemed to suggest that he would not be eager to share that market with another team. "We bought the Golden State Warriors, that is, the NBA team of Oakland, San Jose and San Francisco, the Bay Area," he wrote. "We feel that we paid a full but fair price for THAT opportunity."
An NBA representative declined to comment Wednesday.
http://www.mercurynews.com/warriors/ci_17020210?nclick_check=1
SAN FRANCISCO — Larry Ellison, the billionaire CEO of Oracle who's had extraordinary success buying a string of tech companies, confirmed Wednesday that he recently failed in a second attempt to buy a professional basketball franchise, less than six months after his surprising loss in a bidding war for the Golden State Warriors.
"I did offer $350 million" for the New Orleans Hornets, Ellison told reporters, adding that he was "slightly outbid" by the National Basketball Association when the league bought the bankrupt team last month from owners George Shinn and Gary Chouest.
Ellison's comments put a damper on the hope floated in a Forbes blog post that he planned to buy the team and move it to San Jose. The prospect was warmly greeted by San Jose officials, intrigued with the notion of another pro franchise moving to the city but Ellison flatly said the report was "not true.''
Ellison later told the Mercury News that he had not made up his mind about what to do with the Hornets, had he been able to buy them. "I was trying to buy the team first, and then figure out what I was going to do with it," he said.
Still, the news that Ellison made an offer for the team demonstrated that the world's sixth richest man, an avowed sports enthusiast, is undeterred by his failed effort to gain control of the Warriors.
Ellison, whose Oracle racing team won the America's Cup sailing trophy last year, spoke Wednesday during a press
Advertisement
conference called by Ellison and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to celebrate the team's decision to stage the next America's Cup regatta in San Francisco Bay in 2013.
The tech tycoon, whose Redwood City company is one of the biggest commercial software makers in the world, also owns the rights to operate a major professional tennis tournaments, the BNP Paribas Open, which is scheduled to be held in Southern California this March.
Ellison is known for his ultra-competitive approach to business, often buying rival companies and publicly boasting of his intentions to beat others in the marketplace. But despite his zeal to win, the 66-year-old Ellison has not yet achieved his longheld ambition to become a professional football or basketball team owner.
Many in the sports world considered him the logical candidate to buy the Warriors when former owner Chris Cohan put the team up for sale last year. Ellison made an offer but was outbid when a group led by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Joseph Lacob put together a deal for $450 million.
Ellison later complained that he had submitted a higher bid than Lacob, but a Cohan representative said Ellison's final offer came too late in the process.
There was some similar confusion about the Hornets bidding on Wednesday. While Ellison said he offered $350 million for the team and was "slightly outbid," some news reports last month suggested the league itself paid a lower price than that.
Some news outlets said the NBA paid $300 million. However, ESPN reported that, while league commissioner David Stern wouldn't disclose the price, Stern said the team was worth "in excess of $300 million."
Word of Ellison's interest in the Hornets didn't surface until Wednesday when Forbes blogger Mike Ozanian said a "source" suggested Ellison would buy the Hornets for about $300 million and then pay the Warriors an additional $150 million for the legal right to operate a second NBA franchise in the Bay Area.
Ozanian said his source suggested the Hornets could become roommates with the San Jose Sharks and play home games at the HP Pavilion.
Sharks executive Malcolm Bordelon said Wednesday that he was aware of the speculation and that the Sharks' owners were "by all means" interested in sharing the arena with a pro basketball team.
"From a facilities standpoint and from a downtown business standpoint, it makes complete sense," said Bordelon, the Sharks' executive vice president of business operations. But he added that the Sharks have had "virtually no discussions" with Ellison, "though we are obviously open to having those discussions."
The Warriors, however, appeared to view the prospect dimly. In an emailed statement, Lacob suggested that it wouldn't make business sense for Ellison to pay $450 million and still have to share the Bay Area market with the Warriors.
Lacob also seemed to suggest that he would not be eager to share that market with another team. "We bought the Golden State Warriors, that is, the NBA team of Oakland, San Jose and San Francisco, the Bay Area," he wrote. "We feel that we paid a full but fair price for THAT opportunity."
An NBA representative declined to comment Wednesday.
http://www.mercurynews.com/warriors/ci_17020210?nclick_check=1