The Buss household have agreed to promote a majority stake within the Los Angeles Lakers to TWG World CEO Mark Walter, the 2 events confirmed on Wednesday, whereas including that Jeanie Buss will stay governor of the storied NBA franchise.
Monetary phrases of the deal weren’t disclosed, however when the information was first reported final week, it mentioned the settlement valued the 17-time NBA champion Lakers at USD 10 billion, making it the largest-ever sale of knowledgeable sports activities crew.
Walter, who has possession pursuits in a number of skilled sports activities groups, together with MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, has been a minority proprietor of the Lakers since 2021.
“From the day our father bought the Lakers, we’ve been decided to ship what the Metropolis of Los Angeles deserves and calls for: a crew that’s dedicated to successful – relentlessly – and to doing so with ardour and with type,” Buss mentioned in a information launch.
“I’ve gotten to know Mark very nicely over time and been delighted to find out how he shares those self same values,” she added.
The sale is predicted to shut within the third or fourth quarter of 2025, topic to customary closing situations, together with acquiring NBA approval, the 2 events mentioned.
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The late Jerry Buss bought the Lakers in 1979 and turned the crew into one of many world’s hottest sports activities franchises, successful 5 championships throughout its now-iconic “Showtime” period within the Nineteen Eighties.
By the years the Lakers’ rosters have featured world-famous abilities reminiscent of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James.
Jeanie Buss, who took over as principal proprietor after her father Jerry died in 2013 and have become some of the highly effective ladies in sports activities, will oversee all crew operations on a day-to-day foundation for the foreseeable future.
“Since Dr Jerry Buss first bought the crew in 1979, they’ve really set the usual for basketball in a single period after one other, which is why yow will discover folks wherever on this planet sporting Lakers shirts and jerseys,” mentioned Walter.
“I love what he, Jeanie and the Buss household have constructed, and I understand how a lot this particular organisation issues to Southern Californians and to sports activities followers all over the place. I even have super respect for Jeanie’s continued dedication to sustaining the Lakers’ long-term imaginative and prescient and elite standing, and I’m excited to work together with her on the subsequent period,” he added.