Oracle Head Ellison Prepping Clippers Bid With Oprah, David Geffen

Larry Ellison, the billionaire founder and CEO of software giant Oracle, is part of a trio including record producer David Geffen and TV personality Oprah Winfrey preparing a bid for the L.A. Clippers basketball team, according to reports on ESPN, citing comments from Geffen and a Winfrey spokeswoman.

Oracle declined to comment on the report. But it would be the second time that Ellison has pursued an interest in an NBA franchise. In 2010 he sought to buy a majority share in the Golden State Warriors. That team went instead to joint bidders Joe Lacob of Kleiner Perkins and Peter Guber, chairman of Mandalay Entertainment.

The Clippers are likely to become available in the wake of the decision by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to ban DavidDonald Sterling, the current Clippers owner, from basketball for life. Sterling was recorded making a series of racist and inflammatory comments. Any sale is contingent on the NBA board of governors voting to force a sale of the team.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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