Two more powerful investors, Vivek Ranadive and Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs, have joined the effort to keep the Sacramento Kings in Northern California, according to Nick Monacelli of Sacramento News 10.
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Ranadive is a Silicon Valley-based mogul who joined the Mark Mastarov-Ron Burkle group in hopes to bolster its buying power. According to sources, he recruited Jacobs as a fourth investor to form a super-group of sorts that could compete with the investment power of the Seattle-based group vying for ownership of the Kings.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, long the orchestrator throughout the process, lauded Jacobs as a visionary who had a strong sense of the market. Jacobs and Ranadive had been in discussion at length prior to the announcement, with hopes of joining forces and keeping the Kings home.
Sacramento will make its case for an arena bid in an April 3 meeting with the NBA Board of Governors in New York. They will be doing so alongside the Seattle-based group before a final decision is made.
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