The BNP Paribas Open, the tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California, has been bought by American billionaire Larry Ellison.
 
The tournament, an ATP 1000 event, is arguably the biggest in world tennis after the Grand Slams. With a 2009 attendance of 279,000 and total prize money of US$9 million only the four Grand Slams are ranked higher than the BNP Paribas Open in terms of attendance and prize money.
 
Ellison, co-founder and chief executive of software giant Oracle and owner of the Oracle America's Cup sailing team, has bought 100 per cent of the annual tournament's assets, including the stadium complex, the 55-acre Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
 
Although official figures have not been revealed, sources suggest the deal was worth in the region of US$100 million. If that figure is accurate, Ellison, who is valued by Forbes magazine as the fourth richest man in the world, has got a very good deal. The latest economic impact report put a US$219 million value on the tournament.
 
The money is believed to have come directly from Ellison's own finances, rather than through his company. Ellison is a passionate tennis fan and has attended the tournament as a guest of the organiser's since 2006.
 
Raymond Moore and Charlie Pasarell, the event's majority owners before the Ellison deal, will be retained on a four-year management deal to continue running the event and the arena. Tournament director Steve Simon and assistant tournament director Dee Dee Felich will also stay on.

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"This tournament has an incredibly solid foundation, including one of the best venues and management teams, and I intend to build on that and continue the vision of being one of the greatest international sporting events worldwide," Ellison said in a statement on Tuesday.
 
With Ellison having faced stiff competition from potential buyers from Abu Dhabi and Qatar, one of the conditions of the sale was that the tournament, which has turned a profit since 2006, stays in the US.
 
"We're ecstatic we've sold it to a US buyer who is committed to keeping it in the US," said Franklin Johnson, the former United States Tennis Association president who now represents the group on the tournament's board.
 
"Because we're a private company and we have shareholders, we've had to respond to those requests," Moore said of the myriad offers the ownership group had received over the last few years. "I think Charlie and I had always wanted this event to remain in the United States, and particularly in California and specifically in Indian Wells. This was the way to do it, to get a new owner. Now there's only one owner; there's not 32 like we had before."