Record deal in US basketball
Majority to Los Angeles Lakers is to be sold
19.06.2025 – 05:36 a.m.Reading time: 1 min.
The Los Angeles Lakers get a new owner. The Buss family sells a large part of their shares in the basketball club for a record sum.
The Buss family of owners sells most of their shares to Los Angeles Lakers – and thus gives control after 46 years. Mark Walter, previously minority shareholders, is expected. The deal is likely to be worth $ 10 billion. However, Jeanie Buss remains in office – as a governor and NBA representative at a league level – and, according to NBA requirements, keeps at least 15 percent of the shares. The NBA still has to agree to the sale.
The sale would end a historical era: Jerry Buss bought the team in 1979 for $ 67.5 million, made it a global cult brand among his family and led 11 NBA titles. After his death in 2013, the children took over the Lakers, especially Jeanie Buss.
Mark Walter, CEO of TWG Global and co -owner of Los Angeles Dodgers (since 2012), has been involved in the Lakers with around 27 percent since 2021. Through his right of first refusal, he can now take over the majority – and adds the Lakers to its expanding sports portfolio.
The NBA rules demand that Walter Jeanie Buss recognize Buss as governor in the league – she has to keep at least 15 percent. This is unusual, but not unprecedented. Another novelty: Despite the lack of its own arena, the evaluation is high. The crypto.com arena belongs and is operated by AEG. With $ 10 billion, this sale is the most expensive deal in US sports history – well above the 6.1 billion deal for the Boston Celtics in March 2025.