CFO says Sterling will be forced to sell team because of debt

As Donald Sterling continued his public campaign in retaining his ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers, his company chief financial officer disclosed in a trial that the 80 year-old entrepreneur would need to succumb to a deal that seemed financially favorable, no thanks to his $500 million worth of loans.

According to The Sterling Family Trust CFO Darren Schield, Sterling would be forced to sell a huge portion of his assets should he decide to retain ownership of the Clippers despite the agreement his estranged wife Shelly has struck with the group that included former Microsoft honcho Steve Ballmer. Schield added that the three banks who have loaned the money to Sterling are set to recall the loans because of the latter's decision to dissolve the trust. Yahoo Sports said Sterling's decision to dissolve the trust was his strategy to rescind the agreement Shelly has reached with Ballmer for $2 billion. Sterling had acquired the NBA team for $12 million. Moreover, he also said that Sterling's decision to sell his apartment buildings to compensate for the loans could also affect the real estate market in Los Angeles.

Ahead of the court trial regarding the team's sale, sources have told New York Daily News that Sterling had called Ballmer for a unexpected 90-minute summit on Monday. Sources added that lawyers for both parties were present, but there had been no developments regarding the sale of the Clippers.

"The meeting went on for about an hour and a half. It was at Donald's request. They went nowhere. We'll be back in court tomorrow," one source said then.

The other chimed in and said, "It was friendly, but merely reconfirmed that nothing short of judicial action will result in a sale."

Daily News said that unless Sterling decides to give his blessing to the sale, the Clippers will be seized by the National Basketball Association to force-sell it. On the other hand, the future would only benefit Sterling, as he testified two weeks ago that the seizure would increase his chances to win in his mega-bucks antitrust lawsuit he had already filed against the NBA in federal court.

Tags

Donald Sterling, Los Angeles Clippers sale, Clippers sale trial update, National Basketball Association

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