The Buss family, architects of 11 NBA championships, is poised to relinquish their four-decade reign over the LA Lakers, with ESPN reporting they are entering an agreement to sell a majority stake in basketball’s most glamorous franchise.
The following is the breakdown of the deal:
WHAT IS AT STAKE?
Lakers minority owner Mark Walter is set to take majority ownership in a deal valuing the Lakers at about $10 billion, making it the most expensive U.S. sports team valuation in history.
The deal will end family control of the Lakers.
The Buss family will retain a minority share of just over 15 per cent for a period of time after the deal, ESPN reported, bringing to a close its stewardship of a franchise that became synonymous with Hollywood allure and championship excellence.
Reuters could not immediately ascertain what Walter’s new stake in the team would be. He purchased a minority stake in the Lakers with Todd Boehly in 2021.
The previous record for biggest sports deal was held by the Boston Celtics, who agreed in March to be sold for $6.1 billion.
WHO ARE THE LAKERS?
The Lakers are one of the most storied franchises in National Basketball Association history. The team was valued at $7.1 billion by Forbes last year, behind only the Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks in the NBA.
They are the second-most successful NBA team with 17 championships. The Celtics have 18.
Jerry Buss, who bought the Lakers for $67.5 million in 1979, transformed them into one of the most well-known franchises in professional sports. The team won five championships during the celebrated “Showtime” era of the 1980s.
The Lakers have LeBron James, arguably the league’s biggest star, on their roster. They also snapped up Slovenian Luka Doncic in a high-profile trade with the Dallas Mavericks in February.
WHO IS MARK WALTER?
Walter is a 65-year-old American billionaire businessman who is CEO and chairman of holding company TWG Global. He is also CEO of investment firm Guggenheim Partners.
Walter, whose net worth is listed as $6.1 billion by Forbes, has owned the LA Dodgers baseball team since 2012.
He is adding the Lakers to a sporting portfolio that includes stakes in the Cadillac Formula One team, the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and English Premier League soccer club Chelsea.
WHO ARE THE BUSS FAMILY?
Jerry Buss’s 66 per cent stake in the Lakers was passed on to his six children via a family trust after his death in 2013. Buss died at the age of 80 due to kidney failure.
His daughter, Jeanie, took over as principal owner after his death and is set to continue as team governor, maintaining a family connection to the purple-and-gold empire her father built.
WHICH ARE SOME OTHER NOTABLE SPORTS DEALS?
The Celtics set the previous benchmark in NBA sale valuations after agreeing to a $6.1-billion sale to a group headed by private equity firm Symphony Technology Group co-founder William Chisholm in March.
The NFL’s Washington Commanders sold for $6.05 billion in July 2023, in a deal that, at the time, was the biggest for a North American sports franchise.
Also in 2023, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe finalised a deal to acquire a minority stake in Manchester United that valued the English soccer club at $6.3 billion.
In 2022, former owner Roman Abramovich sold English soccer club Chelsea to a consortium led by Boehly that included Walter, for about $3.2 billion.
WHEN IS THE LEAGUE EXPECTED TO APPROVE AND FINALISE THE LAKERS SALE?
Final approval of the sale could take several months. The Celtics’ sale has yet to receive final approval from the NBA Board of Governors.
The Board is scheduled to meet in July in Las Vegas, though that session is expected to focus primarily on potential league expansion plans.
