The Deal
On June 18, news broke that the majority owners of the Los Angeles Lakers, the Buss family, had reportedly finalized a sale agreement with US businessman Mark Walter, the chief executive of financial services heavyweight Guggenheim, and the holding company TWG Global, through which his sports holdings are managed.
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Walter, who previously acquired a 27% minority stake in the Lakers from Phil Anschutz in 2021, has now taken majority control of the storied franchise, becoming the first new owner of the team in 48 years.
The Buss family will retain 15% of the Lakers, with Jeannie Buss continuing as team governor “for the foreseeable future”.
In a statement, Walter commented: “The Lakers have long been one of the most iconic franchises in sports. I admire what [Jerry Buss], Jeanie, and the Buss family have built, and I know how much this special organization matters to Southern Californians and to sports fans everywhere. I also have tremendous respect for Jeanie’s continued commitment to maintaining the Lakers’ long-term vision and elite status, and I’m excited to work with her on the next era.”
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By GlobalDataHis acquisition of the Lakers now creates a “new paradigm” for spending in the league, according to GlobalData Sport's head of analysis, Conrad Wiacek.
Since the merger of the BAA and the NBL in 1949, which formed the NBA, only the Boston Celtics franchise has won more than the Lakers’ 17 NBA Championships.
Of that tally, 11 came after the team’s purchase by Dr. Jerry Buss in 1979, as he revolutionized his team into a “showtime” entertainment product that proved a major commercial draw, as well as a dominant on-court team.
Through the 1980s and 2000s, the star-studded Lakers were a dominant franchise, but in the 2010s, the team’s prominence waned as Buss’ spending power paled in comparison to others in the league.
Wiacek explained: “While the Lakers have been seen as the biggest franchise thanks to their geographical location, other owners in the NBA have been far richer than the Buss family, which has hindered their ability to spend as befitting a storied franchise. Most of the Buss family's wealth comes from their Lakers ownership, so while rich, the liquidity required to compete with the likes of [Los Angeles Clippers owner] Steve Ballmer simply wasn't there.
“This has now changed, and with Walter adopting a 'best in class’ approach to his ownership of the Dodgers, which has led to two World Series in recent years, that same approach is likely to now be taken at the Lakers.
“The Lakers has long been appealing to stars such as LeBron James due to the franchise’s location, but with the fear of luxury tax issues now gone, the team’s front office is likely to spend and bring in more top talent to surround new franchise star Luka Doncic in the pursuit of their next NBA title as well as revolutionizing their back office and commercial operations"
Walter is perhaps one of the biggest spenders in global sports. The US businessman is also the primary owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball franchise, motor racing organization Andretti Global, the Los Angeles Sparks women’s basketball side, and a shareholder of English soccer side Chelsea and French team Strasbourg via the BlueCo consortium.
In 2024, he made Japanese two-way baseball star Shohei Ohtani the highest-paid player in the sport's history (he remains the second highest at the time of writing), while Chelsea (which he holds 12.7% of via BlueCo) has spent over £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion) in transfer fees alone since it was taken over in 2022.
Wiacek continued: “The sale of the Buss family majority stake in the Lakers sets a new record valuation for a sports franchise, which is noteworthy in of itself.
“While the price paid for the stake is likely to be far closer to the $6.1 billion paid for the Lakers' erstwhile rivals, the Boston Celtics, with the Buss family retaining 15% of the franchise, the move by Mark Walter to take ownership of Lakers creates a new paradigm in the NBA.”
This sale normalizes the massive fees paid for top-level sports franchises. As one of the planet’s most famous sports brands, Walter has now set a benchmark next to which all other teams, both in the NBA and otherwise, will be measured.
The fee that Walter has paid for the Lakers, however, presents a stumbling block for the rest of the league’s franchise owners, with even most billionaires priced out of entry into the NBA as team ownership becomes the preserve of the super-rich.
Recently, Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore completed the acquisition of the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise from long-time owner Glen Taylor. The controversial deal turned into a bitter battle for control, stemming from the delivery of the incoming group’s multi-part payment plan, emphasizing the difficulty with which even segmented $2 billion transactions are conducted, let alone those of a franchise that holds quintuple the value.
These valuations have been particularly spurred on by the NBA’s new 11-year media deal, set to come into effect with the 2025-26 campaign, which will see Disney, NBC, and Amazon pay a combined $76 billion for live game rights.
The previous record Boston Celtics sale and the Timberwolves purchase were both concluded following the announcement of that rights agreement, and it is likely that more sales are to come, given that many of the NBA’s owners have held on to their franchises for decades as values grew.
The Details
Walter has acquired 51% of the Lakers from the Buss family, which, in addition to his existing 27% stake in the team, brings his total holdings in the franchise up to 78%. The Buss family will, for now, retain 15% of the franchise, although Walter has a first option agreement to acquire the remainder of their stake in the future.
The remaining 7% of the Lakers is split between a multitude of minority shareholders, including real estate mogul Edward Roski Jr. and Walter’s business partner Todd Boehly (who bought his stake from Anschutz alongside Walter).
Given the due diligence required and the fact that the other NBA owners must still vote to approve the sale at an owners meeting, the purchase is expected to conclude at some point in the fourth quarter of the 2025 calendar year.
The $10 billion valuation that the Lakers franchise has now been tagged with means Walter has paid in excess of $5 billion for his current stake, much of which will likely come from the Guggenheim business. By comparison, Guggenheim (led by Walter) bought the LA Dodgers for $2.5 billion.
