The group will continue to operate the Forum for music and entertainment onlyGETTY IMAGES
A group controlled by Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer "completed its purchase" of the Forum from MSG Entertainment Corp., officially "removing an obstacle in the way of the Clippers constructing their own arena nearby," according to Andrew Greif of the L.A. TIMES. The formal purchase "comes six weeks" after Ballmer-backed CAPSS LLC announced it had agreed to pay $400M in cash. The group "will continue to operate the Forum for music and entertainment only, using a new entity, Forum Entertainment LLC." Senior VP Geni Lincoln and VP/Arena Operations Mike Fallon, who "ran the building's operations under MSG, will continue in those roles" while reporting to Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker (L.A. TIMES, 5/5). In California, Mirjam Swanson notes the deal ends a "years-long legal war that threatened the feasibility" of a proposed $1.2B basketball arena in Inglewood. The Clippers' plans for a "privately financed, fan-focused NBA arena" near the Forum "continue to move forward, with public hearings slated to begin this summer" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 5/5). The Clippers said that "all of The Forum's California-based staff are expected to remain as employees of Forum Entertainment LLC" (ESPN.com, 5/4). MSG Entertainment, which was spun off from the company’s sports division, will net $258M in cash proceeds from the deal and increase the company’s cash line to $322M after transaction costs and income tax considerations (Karn Dhingra, THE DAILY).
