Gores, Pistons still negotiating

FOX Sports Detroit
Feb. 11, 2011

The Pistons and prospective buyer Tom Gores apparently still have some work to do and have extended their bargaining period.

Marx Layne & Co. released a mid-afternoon statement Friday for current Pistons owner Karen Davidson: "The parties are continuing to work in a cooperative manner and have agreed to a new, 14-day exclusivity period."

The Detroit Free Press said in a Friday report that Gores has returned to Los Angeles to tend to a family commitment.

On Thursday, the Free Press reported that Gores, a Los Angeles financier, had reached a tentative agreement to buy the Pistons. When contacted by FOX Sports Detroit early Friday, the team would not confirm the report.

When a deal — likely to include the team, their arena (the Palace of Auburn Hills) and DTE Energy Music Theatre — is finally reached, it will still need approval by three-quarters of the NBA owners.

Forbes magazine estimates the value of the Pistons at $360 million.

Gores, 46, is among the world’s richest people, with a net worth of $2.4 billion in Forbes magazine's September 2010 valuation. The company he founded and currently chairs, Platinum Equity, is a private-equity firm that owns and invests in a diverse array of companies, including the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper. He lives in Beverly Hills, Calif., but grew up in Flint, Mich. and went to Michigan State University.

Davidson is the primary owner of Palace Sports & Entertainment, which operates the team and venues.