Josh Kushner and Bob Iger have agreed to buy the Los Angeles Lakers from Mark Walter for more than $12 billion, in a deal that would put a new record valuation on one of the NBA’s most recognizable franchises. The sale still needs approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors.
The move lands on Wednesday, when the deal was reported, and it instantly raises the question of what comes next for a team whose ownership has changed hands only recently. Walter took controlling interest from the Buss family last year in a transaction valued at $10 billion, so a price above $12 billion would mark a steep jump in value in a short span of time.
Walter said owning the Lakers had been one of the great honors of his life, calling it an extraordinary investment and saying what he would carry with him was the community, the fans and a city that treats the team as family. He said he was grateful to Jeanie Buss, the Buss family, the players and the staff, and added that the Lakers belong to Los Angeles and that the best is still ahead. Kushner and Iger, in a joint statement to, said they are lifelong NBA fans and described the chance to become stewards of the Lakers as a deep honor. They also said they have immense respect for Jerry and Jeanie Buss and promised a long-term commitment to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level and serve the team, its fans and the city of Los Angeles.
The valuation is the part that will draw the most scrutiny, but the mechanics of how the deal is being financed have not been explained publicly. Kushner, who founded Thrive Capital in 2009 and previously bought a minority interest in the Memphis Grizzlies, has been building a sports profile for years, and the transaction would now move him into control of a far bigger stage. The price alone suggests a structure built around an enormous equity commitment and a premium for control, but the public has not been shown how the money was assembled or whether any outside capital is part of the package.
There is also the matter hanging over Walter’s broader business. Federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating insurance companies connected to his operation, including Delaware Life Insurance Co. and Clear Spring Life and Annuity Co., as well as Guggenheim Partners, where Walter serves as chief executive. He has not been charged with wrongdoing, and neither the Lakers nor any of his other sports franchises have been accused of misconduct. There is no public evidence that the inquiry forced him to sell, even though it has created an uncomfortable cloud around the business empire tied to him.
That leaves the deal with one immediate hurdle and one larger unanswered question. The NBA’s Board of Governors must approve the sale, and if it does, the Lakers would pass to a new ownership group at a price that resets the market for a franchise of this size. What remains unclear is not whether Kushner and Iger want the team; it is how they put together a more than $12 billion purchase strong enough to clear the league and close.
For readers trying to understand who Josh Kushner is in all this, he has been moving toward the NBA for some time. A fuller profile of him is available here: Who Is Josh Kushner? Lakers Sale Nears $12 Billion Mark.
