Former Microsoft Corp CEO Steve Ballmer has won the bidding war for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers franchise with a $2bn (£1.2bn) offer.
If approved by the NBA, it would be a record deal for a basketball deal.
The agreement between Mr Ballmer and the Sterling Family Trust was reached on Thursday night.
Mr Ballmer outbid two groups, according to Reuters.
One, led by media mogul David Geffen, offered $1.6bn (£955m) and included TV talk show star Oprah Winfrey and Oracle Corp CEO Larry Ellison, the news agency reported.
The other bid was put forth by a group of Los Angeles investors who offered $1.2bn (£717m).
The Clippers came up for sale after the National Basketball Association banned owner Donald Sterling for life because of racist remarks he made in a recorded conversation that was leaked last month to entertainment news website TMZ.com.
Mr Sterling, who has vowed to fight the NBA's punishment, authorised his wife Shelly, a co-owner of the team, to review the bids.
The former Microsoft executive made more than an hour-long personal visit to Shelly Sterling's Malibu home on Sunday and laid out his plan.
Mr Ballmer's winning bid was raised from an initial $1.8bn (£1bn) offer made earlier in the day.
If approved by Sterling and the NBA, the deal would be second only to the $2.1bn (£1.2bn) paid in 2012 for baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers.
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