In one of the vital beautiful developments relating to crew possession in fashionable American sports activities historical past, billionaire enterprise capitalist Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger bought a majority share of the valuation of the Los Angeles Lakers, with a complete price ticket of $12.5 billion, in a transfer that was introduced on Wednesday.
The sale comes one 12 months after Guggenheim Companions CEO and Los Angeles Dodgers proprietor Mark Walter bought the Lakers for a then-record worth of $10 billion, which ignited hope that the Lakers might be in retailer for an period of dominance just like the Dodgers are at the moment experiencing. Nevertheless, it’s been a turbulent 12 months for the 66-year previous Walter for the reason that sale. He’s notably been on the heart of a federal investigation into his enterprise dealings and loans acquired, plus there have been questions on his cognitive talents raised after a stroke he suffered in 2024.
Regardless, the sale comes as a shock, if for no different cause than the very fact it means the Lakers had been basically a brief time period buy-and-flip for one of many world’s richest males. The timing of the sale definitely makes you marvel if Walters may see the partitions closing in on him, and the truth that Kushner’s brother Jared is Donald Trump’s son-in-law and one of many extra prolific members of his administrations definitely hasn’t quelled allegations of conspiracy. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Walter has been in talks with buyers to assist repay the loans he was being investigated for.
Billionaire Mark Walter’s agency is in talks with buyers to boost cash to assist pay down loans on the books of its insurers that had drawn scrutiny from the Justice Division https://t.co/GEN7XSDec1
— Bloomberg (@enterprise) August 12, 2026
Change In Plans
For Kushner and Iger, the choice to buy the Lakers was a sudden diversion from their authentic plan, which was to pursue possession of the potential enlargement franchise in Las Vegas. After it turned obvious that Walters was taking a look at offloading his majority stake within the Lakers, Iger advised the California Publish on Wednesday that the deal got here collectively in simply three days.
“We had been concerned in pursuing the brand new franchise in Vegas,” Iger mentioned. “And whereas that occurred, it was advised to us that possibly Mark Walter can be inquisitive about promoting his stake within the Lakers. And we instantly determined that given the worth of the franchise and the long-lasting nature of the crew, that we might be actually good to pursue it. The deal got here collectively in three days. It’s that easy.”
The place Does Walter Stand?
Walter expressed humility for the Buss household, the town of Los Angeles and the Lakers fanbase in a press release on Wednesday. He is at the moment holding on to his take within the Dodgers, although that might be one thing to search for within the coming months if there are any developments within the federal investigation.
„Proudly owning the Los Angeles Lakers has been one of many nice honors of my life — a unprecedented funding, however what I’ll carry with me is the group, the followers, and a metropolis that treats this crew as household,“ Walter mentioned in a press release. „I’m grateful to Jeanie Buss, the Buss household, the gamers, and the workers for welcoming me into this chapter. The Lakers belong to Los Angeles, and I’ve each confidence the very best remains to be forward.“
By way of the Lakers’ operations, I wouldn’t anticipate an excessive amount of to alter so long as Jeanie Buss and household are working the operation. Mark Walter, nicely, it’s protected to say there he’s had higher days. It is going to even be attention-grabbing to see what this implies for the upcoming franchise in Las Vegas now that arguably essentially the most formidable consumers are out of the image.
