Pera has been mostly an absentee figure with the team and rarely attends gamesNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
Robert Pera announced that he will "retain controlling interest" in the Grizzlies, according to a front-page piece by Ronald Tillery of the Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL. Pera's decision "came in the wake of a buy-sell process" involving investors Steve Kaplan and Daniel Straus. To keep control of the team, Pera had to commit to either "buying Kaplan's and Straus' shares at a valuation price set by them, or Pera could have decided to sell his shares of the team at that price." It was not "immediately known" what price Kaplan and Straus set. Last fall, around the five-year anniversary of Pera purchasing the team from late Owner Michael Heisley, Kaplan and Straus "triggered the buy-sell agreement." A source said that all parties had a 60-90 day window to "engage in good-faith negotiations," and now Pera must buy out Kaplan's 14% stake and Straus' 14% stake. Pera has been mostly an "absentee figure with the organization," rarely attending games or granting interviews (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 4/10). ESPN.com's Zach Lowe cites sources as saying that Pera's deal "values the team" between $1.3-1.4B. That is a "big price tag for a small-market team that has been among the league's largest revenue-sharing recipients." Pera also said that he "plans to keep the team in Memphis" (ESPN.com, 4/10).
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW: In Memphis, Geoff Calkins writes Pera has not "been the perfect owner" -- allowing the franchise to "careen along without any public leadership or vision for far too long." But civic leaders are "thrilled -- or at least greatly relieved -- by the outcome of this arduous process." Pera will provide "stability instead of instability," and is the "owner they know instead of the owner they don't." Pera has "never given the slightest indication that he is going to take the team out of the city," and unlike previous ownership, he has "given the franchise all of the resources it needs to succeed." Calkins: "Yes, this may be the best news of the year for Grizzlies fans. Now let us hope there is more good news to come" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 4/10).
