Lakers Sold for $12.5B, Jeanie Buss Remains Team Governor
The Los Angeles Lakers were sold for a staggering $12.5 billion, reflecting a notable increase from their previous valuation of $10 billion just a year earlier. However, the former majority owners will not benefit from this rise in value.
Mark Walter, who acquired approximately 50 percent of the Lakers last year from Jeanie Buss and her siblings, has retained Buss as the team governor for a five-year term. Although Walter's stake has appreciated by 25 percent, the Buss family will not see these financial gains. Walter, who has been involved with the Lakers since 2021, is now selling his majority stake to a group led by Joshua Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger.
Before Walter's group can take control in 2025, they have the right to match any outside offers for the Buss family's majority stake. This arrangement may have influenced the family's decision to sell at what appears to be a below-market price. The sale faced internal family dissent, with two of the six Buss siblings opposing it and subsequently losing their jobs. Despite these challenges, Iger has indicated that Buss's role as team governor is secure until 2030, which may have been a key factor in her decision-making during the sale.
