The Buss family has agreed to sell the majority ownership of the Lakers to Dodgers chairman Mark Walter, the CEO of Guggenheim Partners, at a valuation of approximately $10 billion.
It will mark the largest sale of a North American professional sports team all-time.
ESPN first reported the sale on Wednesday afternoon, adding that Jeanie Buss will remain the franchise’s governor.
“Laker fans should be [ecstatic],” Lakers icon Magic Johnson wrote in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) after news of the franchise being sold broke.
Johnson is a minority owner of the Dodgers and part of the Guggenheim Baseball Management, led by Walter, that purchased the Dodgers for $2 billion in 2012.
Johnson added in his post: “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 – they are competitive people, have big hearts, love to give back, and both prefer to be behind the scenes. This makes all the sense in the world. I am so so SO happy and excited for [Lakers] fans all over the world!!”
In addition to the Dodgers and Lakers, Walter also has ownership stakes in the WNBA’s Sparks, Premier League soccer club Chelsea FC and the Cadillac Formula 1 team.
The Buss family has owned the Lakers since 1979, when the late Jerry Buss bought the franchise from Jack Kent Cooke for $67.5 million – a transaction that included the NHL’s Kings and the Forum in Inglewood. Since 1980, the Lakers have won 11 championships, the most by any NBA team during that span.
Lakers’ ownership was passed to his children after Jerry Buss died in 2013, with Jeanie serving as the franchise’s governor since.
“Job well done to my sister Jeanie Buss for striking an incredible deal and picking the right person to carry on the [Lakers] legacy and tradition of winning – Mark Walter, my business partner and friend!,” Johnson wrote on X. “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. Mark has been nothing short of a winner, notching 2 World Series and 11 NL West divisional titles in the last 12 years!”
Walter has been a stakeholder in the Lakers since 2021, when he also received a right of first refusal on the majority share of the team.
The sale for approximately $10 billion would shatter the $6.1 billion valuation for the Boston Celtics earlier this year.
Much more to come on this story.