Buss Family Selling Lakers Ownership Stake: Report

Shams Charania of ESPN reports that the Buss family, led by team governor Jeanie Buss, has agreed to sell its majority equity in the franchise to TWG Global CEO and chairman Mark Walter. This is not Walter's first rodeo as a sports team owner, as he already possesses part of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Sparks.

Buss is expected to remain as the club's governor even after the sale is official.

Walter is no stranger to Lakers ownership. He and Todd Boehly had already bought a 26% stake in the Lakers circa 2021, a year removed from L.A.'s most recent championship.

This news arrives on the heels of the sale of the NBA's other signature franchise earlier this year.

The Grousbeck family sold their majority ownership stake of the Boston Celtics, who have won a league-record 18 titles to L.A.'s 17, to a new group led by private equity businessman William Chisholm for a record $6.1 billion in March. Now, it appears Jeanie and her siblings Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse are looking to beat that price.

Per Michael Ozanian of CNBC (in an article written prior to the Celtics sale), the Lakers were seen as being worth $7 billion, behind only the Golden State Warriors' $9.4 billion and the New York Knicks' $7.5 billion. At the time, Boston's valuation was pegged at $5.5 billion, a number the team rocketed past.

Charania reports that Walter is purchasing the Buss stake for $10 billion, a record tally for any pro sports franchise, not just an NBA team.

Walter has been circling a majority share of the Lakers for some time.

Per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Walter had negotiated for the "first right of refusal" to purchase the Buss family's 66% share when he first bought into the team in 2021. 

The sale of the NBA's two winningest teams ever within months of each other represents a massive turning point for the league, as the private equity monolith begins to consume sports ownership.