Robert Pera’s bid to buy Grizzlies up for NBA owners’ vote

Commissioner David Stern told Kyle Veazey of The Commercial Appeal: “Robert will no doubt bring great energy and passion to the franchise.”

Pera, a 34-year-old entrepreneur from Silicon Valley, agreed to buy the team from current owner Michael Heisley on June 11 and will be the team’s largest shareholder, while still owning less than a 50 percent share of the franchise. Twelve other investors have been identified in the group to purchase the Grizzlies, including Justin Timberlake and Ashley Manning, wife of Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.

Pera agreed to purchase the Grizzlies from Michael Heisley on June 11, as the largest stakeholder of an ownership group that includes Peyton Manning, Penny Hardaway and Justin Timberlake among others. If the group gets approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors, the remaining hurdle would be to finalize a deal with Heisley. It is expected that the final terms of the deal could be settled on by as early as Friday.

Pera, 34, is the founder of Ubiquiti Networks, a Silicon Valley wireless technology company. He has agreed to keep the Grizzlies in Memphis for at least 15 years once he assumes ownership.

For the bid to go through, three-fourths of the board have to vote in favor of it. The board is made up of majority owners of each NBA team.

Pera, 34, is the largest shareholder of the potential ownership group. Other shareholders include: Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, former University of Memphis basketball players Elliot Perry and Penny Hardaway, singer/actor Justin Timberlake and former Congressman Harold Ford Jr., among others.

Along with bringing in local investors into ownership, Pera has agreed to provisions that would make relocating the team extremely cost prohibitive and difficult. It seems like the Grizzlies are going to be staying in Memphis for a while.

Pera agreed to a deal with a group of local investors who own 30 to 35 percent of the team to make sure the franchise keeps Memphis as its long-term home:

Those three clauses should make moving the team prohibitive, a key for a franchise that has already moved once in its relatively young existence. As the team has improved with playoff berths in the past two seasons, the FedEx Forum’s passionate home crowd has made it one of the league’s most difficult places to play. That fanbase can rest assured: the Grizzlies likely won’t leave anytime soon.

Pera owns a 63 percent share in Ubiquiti, which has recently come under fire for illegally selling products to Iran.

He has yet to be approved by the NBA or its owners.

Pera’s goal is to get the city involved in the team.

The last few weeks, representatives of Pera have been in Memphis meeting with local business owners. Under the current ownership group, local partners own about two percent of the team.

When asked why he sold the team now, Heisley cited health issues, among other things.

Heisley did not definitively confirm ESPN’s report that the sale was for $350 million, but did say the price of the team was for over $300 million. ESPN reported that Pera has no plans to move the team from Memphis.

According to ESPN, the deal should be announced sometime this week. Heisley did confirm with the Memphis Commercial Appeal that the organization has had contact with Pera, but said “we don’t have a contract at this point,” indicating there may still yet be some work to do.

Pera would not move the Grizzlies out of the Memphis, according to ESPN. Heisley reportedly halted negotiations when Oracle founder Larry Ellison wanted to relocate the team. Pera was spotted touring the Grizzlies’ facilities and operations in March. The former Apple engineer and founder of Ubiquiti Networks is reportedly an avid basketball fan.