DETROIT (Reuters) - A group led by one of Silicon Valley's top venture capitalists and a Hollywood movie producer said it would buy the Golden State Warriors basketball team for a record $450 million.
Joe Lacob and Mandalay Entertainment Group Chairman and Chief Executive Peter Guber, the former chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said their group would buy the team from Chris Cohan, beating out other bidders including Oracle Corp Chairman Larry Ellison.
"This is my dream come true," Lacob, managing partner with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, said in a statement. "It is our passion to return the Warriors to greatness and build nothing short of a championship organization that will make all of us in the Bay Area proud."
Lacob, whose group must get approval from National Basketball Association owners to close the deal, has been a partner at Kleiner Perkins since 1987. Founded in 1972, the firm has invested in companies such as Amazon.com Inc, Google Inc, Genentech and Sun Microsystems.
Lacob has been closely involved in the firm's investments in more than 50 life science companies, and led Kleiner Perkins' investment in AutoTrader and Sportsline. He also has been involved in the firm's energy investments.
Several media outlets said late on Wednesday that Ellison would be the likely winner. Another bidder reportedly was Mark Mastrov, founder of 24-Hour Fitness.
Guber's Mandalay Entertainment owns six minor league baseball teams. He is known for producing such well-known Hollywood films as "Rain Man," "Batman" and "The Color Purple."
In March, Cohan hired Galatioto Sports Partners to run the sale. Cohan bought the Oakland, California-based Warriors in 1995 for $119 million, and in 2004 sold a 20 percent stake for an undisclosed amount to a group of four investors.
Bankers and analysts who follow the sports industry previously said the Warriors could top the $401 million paid by Robert Sarver in 2004 for the Phoenix Suns.
Last December, Forbes magazine valued the Warriors at $315 million, down 6 percent from the prior year's list and ranking 18th out of 30 teams.
(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit. Editing by Robert MacMillan)
