The Los Angeles Lakers are changing hands.
The Buss family, longtime owner of the iconic NBA franchise, is selling its majority ownership stake in the franchise to billionaire Mark Walter, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The agreement reportedly values the Lakers at a record $10 billion. The deal is set to surpass the record $6.1-billion sale of the rival Boston Celtics in March.
Walter, the CEO of holding company TWG Global and international investment firm Guggenheim Partners, is also the chairman and majority owner of MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers. He’s held a minority stake in the Lakers since 2021 and had the right of first refusal if the Buss family were to sell its 66% share, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
Jeanie Buss will reportedly remain governor of the NBA franchise after the sale is finalized.
The Buss family has owned the Lakers since 1979 when patriarch Jerry Buss paid $67.5 million for the team as part of an agreement to take over the franchise, along with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. The Hall of Famer owned the Lakers until his death in February 2013, a 34-year stretch in which the club won 10 NBA championships.
His daughter Jeanie officially assumed control of the franchise in 2017 following a protracted ownership dispute with her brothers. The organization captured its 17th NBA title in 2020 – its first and only championship during Jeanie’s time as controlling owner.
Walter has owned the Dodgers since he and a group of fellow investors, including Lakers legend and Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, formed Guggenheim Baseball Management and paid a then-record $2 billion for the franchise in March 2012. The historic MLB club has won two World Series and played in another two in the 13 years since.
In December 2023, the Dodgers made international headlines by signing Japanese two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year deal worth $700 million, with most of the money deferred until 2034 at the earliest. It was the largest contract ever signed in professional sports until Dominican outfielder Juan Soto inked a 15-year, $765-million pact with the New York Mets this past winter.
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