According to a person with knowledge of the deal, the Buss family has agreed to sell TWG Global CEO Mark Walter the majority of the Los Angeles Lakers, for the highest franchise valuation ever for a professional sports team, $10 billion.
The person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither side immediately released details, stated that Jeanie Buss, whose family has controlled the Lakers since her father purchased the team in 1979, plans to continue serving as team governor as part of the agreement.
How much more of the Lakers Walter is acquiring is unclear. In 2021, he was a member of a group that purchased 27% of the Lakers.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, Chelsea of the Premier League, the Professional Women’s Hockey League, and a number of motor racing teams, including Cadillac Formula 1, are already owned by Walter and TWG Global.
The deal was initially reported by ESPN.
Lakers superstar Magic Johnson, a business partner of Walter’s and a close friend of Jeanie Buss, wrote on social media that Mark Walter is the greatest option and will be the best guardian of the Laker brand. The evidence of his accomplishments with the Los Angeles Dodgers speaks for itself. Over the past 12 years, Mark has won 11 NL West divisional titles and two World Series, making him an absolute winner!
Johnson stated that he is positive Only after being persuaded that Walter would act honorably toward the Lakers did Jeanie Buss make the agreement.
According to Johnson, Laker supporters ought to be ecstatic. I can tell you a few things about Mark: he is motivated by greatness, winning, and doing things well. Moreover, he will invest the resources required to succeed! Given their similarities—competitive nature, large hearts, passion of giving back, and a preference for being behind the scenes—I can see why Jeanie sold the squad to Mark Walter. Everything about this makes perfect logic.
Walter avoids the limelight out of extreme privacy. He is the chief executive officer of Guggenheim Partners, a financial services company with assets expected to exceed $325 billion. One of Guggenheim’s investors is Johnson.
Three months after Bill Chisholm agreed to purchase the Boston Celtics for an initial valuation of $6.1 billion, surpassing the previous record of $6.05 billion for the NFL’s Washington Commanders, the Lakers’ sale agreement was reached.
And at $10 billion, the old record has been completely shattered.
Of all the current NBA teams, the Lakers have been owned by the Buss family for the longest period of time—46 years. In 1983, Herb Simon became the second-longest-running owner of an NBA team when he purchased the Indiana Pacers, who were then in the NBA Finals.
After purchasing the Lakers for $67.5 million, Jerry Buss led the team to the NBA Finals 16 times and won 10 titles during that period. When he passed away in 2013, his six children, who had all spent many years working for the Lakers in different roles, took control of the trust that owned the team.
The family eventually started fighting over authority. The battle that included Jeanie Buss going to court after her brothers, Jim and Johnny Buss, called a board meeting that she interpreted as a challenge to her authority shortly after she fired Jim Buss as the Lakers executive vice president of basketball operations, came to an end in 2017 when an agreement was reached for her to serve as controlling owner.
