Los Angeles Lakers to be sold for a $10 billion valuation, becoming most valuable sports franchise in the world
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Los Angeles Lakers to be sold for $10 billion valuation, becoming most valuable sports franchise in the world
The Buss family has agreed to sell a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers to the current owner of the L.A. Dodgers. Current owner Jeanie Buss will retain the title of governor, meaning she’ll continue to represent the team in league matters. The expected sale is valued at about $10 billion, shattering the current record for the largest sale of a sports team in history.Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers for $67.5 million in 1979, transforming them into one of the world’s most recognizable sports franchises. The Lakers have won 11 NBA Titles with teams that have featured some of the league’s most iconic players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James.
Mark Walter, Chief Executive Officer of Guggenheim Partners, will assume majority ownership over the iconic franchise once the deal is made official. Current owner Jeanie Buss will retain the title of governor, meaning she’ll continue to represent the team in league matters. She’s ran the team since her father Jerry’s death in 2013.
“We can confirm: Mark Walter is entering into an agreement to acquire additional interests in the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers, of which he has been a stakeholder since 2021,” said a statement from the team.
The expected sale is valued at about $10 billion, first reported by ESPN, shattering the current record for the largest sale of a sports team in history. The previous record was last year’s $6.1 billion sale of the Lakers’ rival Boston Celtics.
When the sale goes official, the Lakers will be the most valuable franchise in sports by nearly $4 billion.
Mark Walter, owner and chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to Game 1 of a National League Division Series baseball game on Saturday, October 7, 2023. Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images
Aside from the Dodgers, Walter also owns the Professional Women’s Hockey League, the Los Angeles Sparks and has interest in Premier League soccer club Chelsea and the Cadillac Formula 1 racing team.
Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers for $67.5 million in 1979, transforming them into one of the world’s most recognizable sports franchises. After his death, ownership passed to his family, including children Jeanie and Jim, the latter of which left the team in 2017 after acting as the executive vice president of basketball operations.
Since the family’s acquisition, the Lakers have a 2236-1467 record and have won 11 NBA Titles with teams that have featured some of the league’s most iconic players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James.
Over that time span, the Lakers have shelled out a number of large player contracts, which include multi-year deals for Bryant, O’Neal, James, Anthony Davis and many more.
Similarly, under Walter’s tenure as owner, the Dodgers have entered a number of high-dollar deals, most notably inking Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani to a record-breaking $700 million contract in 2023.
Johnson, who previously owned part of the Lakers and is also part of the Dodgers’ ownership team, took to X to offer his thoughts on the blockbuster deal.
“I just talked to my sister Jeanie Buss to tell her congratulations, and that I’m so happy for her and family. I told her that her dad Dr. Buss would be very proud of her,” his post said.
He is also a part owner of the Sparks, Los Angeles FC and the Washington Commanders.
“Mark Walter is the best choice and will be the best caretaker of the Laker brand. The proof is in the pudding on what he’s been able to accomplish with the LA Dodgers,” said another post.
This is the second instance in which the Lakers have stunned the sporting world in a six-month span, after they acquired superstar guard Luka Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks in one of the most stunning trades in NBA history.
Lakers to be sold in record-breaking $10 billion deal: ESPN
The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold in a record-breaking $10 billion deal. It makes the iconic franchise the highest-valued sports team in US history. The deal ends the Buss family’s 46-year reign over the NBA giants. The sale smashes the previous highest figure paid for a US sports team, the $6.1 billion paid for the Boston Celtics earlier this year. The Lakers were bought in 1979 by charismatic tycoon Jerry Buss, who quickly helped turn the franchise into a sporting powerhouse. The Buss era brought the Lakers 11 NBA championships — more than any other team over the same period — and encompassed golden ages which included the “Showtime” Lakers of Magic Johnson as well as a hat-trick of championships between 2000 and 2002.
The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold in a record-breaking $10 billion deal that makes the iconic franchise the highest-valued sports team in US history, ESPN reported Wednesday.
The report said the Lakers owners, the Buss family, would sell their controlling interest in the team to billionaire Mark Walter, who already owns a minority stake in the franchise.
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While Jeanie Buss would continue as Lakers governor, the deal ends the Buss family’s 46-year reign over the NBA giants.
Walter is the chief executive of holding company TWG Global which has built an impressive portfolio of professional sports teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Sparks. He is also part of the ownership group of English Premier League side Chelsea.
TWG also owns the Billie Jean King Cup tennis tournament and the Cadillac Formula One team.
While further specifics of the deal were not disclosed, Lakers legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson — a business partner of Walter — was among the first to react to news of the agreement.
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“Laker fans should be ecstatic,” Johnson wrote on X.
“A few things I can tell you about Mark — he is driven by winning, excellence, and doing everything the right way. And he will put in the resources needed to win! I can understand why Jeanie sold the team to Mark Walter because they are just alike.”
– ‘The best choice’ –
Johnson cited Walter’s ownership of the Dodgers baseball team as a reason for optimism.
The Dodgers have won the World Series twice since Walter’s ownership group took over the club, and in recent years have adopted an aggressive recruitment strategy that has seen them sign some of the sport’s best talent, including Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani on a 10-year, $700 million deal.
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“Mark is the best choice and will be the best caretaker of the Laker brand,” Johnson wrote. “The proof is in the pudding on what he’s been able to accomplish with the LA Dodgers. Mark has been nothing short of a winner.”
The Buss family selling the Lakers marks the end of an era in the NBA, whose modern popularity owes much to the franchise’s 1980s heyday.
The Lakers were bought in 1979 by charismatic tycoon Jerry Buss, who quickly helped turn the franchise into a sporting powerhouse as well as a globally recognised brand.
The Buss era brought the Lakers 11 NBA championships — more than any other team over the same period — and encompassed golden ages which included the “Showtime” Lakers of Magic Johnson as well as a hat-trick of championships between 2000 and 2002 when the team was spearheaded by Kobe Bryant.
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More recently the team recruited superstar LeBron James, who led the Lakers to a 17th championship in 2020, and stunned the league earlier this after swooping for Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic.
Walter has been a minority owner of the Lakers since 2021 when he bought a share in a deal which also gave him first refusal to purchase the club should the Buss family ever decide to sell.
The sale of the club smashes the previous highest figure paid for a US sports team, the $6.1 billion paid for the Boston Celtics earlier this year.
That Celtics sale eclipsed the $6.05 billion that Josh Harris paid for the Washington Commanders in 2023.
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Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/los-angeles-lakers-sale-buss-family-mark-walter/