The Los Angeles Lakers will become the most expensive sports team in history with a valuation of $10bn (£7.5bn) after an agreement was reached to sell a controlling stake to TWG Global CEO Mark Walter.
The Buss family, which has owned the team since 1979, has made a deal to sell to Walter, who also has a controlling stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team and is part of the group that owns Chelsea.
Walter has been a stakeholder in the Lakers since 2021, when he took a 20 per cent holding in the franchise. He has overseen a period of success with the Dodgers, who won the World Series last year and in 2020.
The valuation of the Lakers comfortably eclipses that of their rivals, the Boston Celtics, who were sold for $6.1bn (£4.6bn) earlier this year, then a record-high price for an American sports team.
The Lakers are one of the most prominent teams in basketball and home to 40-year-old LeBron James, who won his fourth career championship with the team in 2020.
They made a blockbuster trade earlier this year for Slovenian Luka Doncic with the Dallas Mavericks, sending Anthony Davis in the other direction, one of the most unexpected moves in NBA history.
Why are the Lakers being sold?
Jerry Buss, who bought the team for $67.5 million 46 years ago, died in 2013 and passed ownership of the Lakers to his six children in a trust. The family were in control of 66 per cent of the team but the terms of the trust reportedly required all six of the children to agree on any potential sale.
That appears to have happened, although Jeanie Buss, who has worked as the Lakers governor, is expected to keep her title under the new ownership structure. When Walter initially invested in 2021 it is understood he was given the option to become majority owner if the situation arose.
What does it mean?
Fans and analysts are optimistic about Walter leading the Lakers to the sort of success he has enjoyed with the Dodgers. “Mark Walter is the best choice and will be the best caretaker of the Laker brand,” said their hall-of-famer Magic Johnson. “He is driven by winning, excellence, and doing everything the right way. AND he will put in the resources needed to win.”
The Lakers have qualified for the play-offs in four of the past five seasons, but other than their Championship win in 2020 they have been knocked out in the first round. James remains a remarkably potent force given his age, but Doncic is the player the new Lakers’ era will be built around.
Who is Mark Walter and how has he made his money?
A 65-year-old businessman and CEO of the investment and financial services company Guggenheim Partners, which manages more than $330bn (£246bn) of assets. Highly private, his estimated net worth is disputed with one calculation guessing at $6bn (£4.45bn), another at $12bn (£8.9bn). A long career in insurance, investment and financial services has been extremely lucrative.
What other teams does he own?
The Dodgers are his best-known other interest, only behind the New York Yankees in baseball in estimated value and cultural heft. Last year they recruited the sport’s biggest name Shohei Ohtani. Dodgers general manager has already mock-warned Walter not to move Ohtani over to basketball, saying, “Hands off of Shohei. They got enough superstars wearing the purple and gold. Leave him alone.”
With his frequent investment partner Todd Boehly, Walter is part of BlueCo, the holding company which controls Chelsea and RC Strasbourg. Walter also has stakes in the Los Angeles Sparks women’s basketball team, owns the top league of women’s ice hockey in the USA and several motorsport teams, including Cadillac which will compete in Formula One next year.
Why are the Lakers worth $10bn?
They are arguably the best-known and certainly the most popular team in a sport which is in rude health. Their brand has worldwide reach, guaranteeing lucrative earnings from merchandise and licensing around the globe. This is aided by their starry reputation as the team which frequently has the face of the league within its ranks: James currently but Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar before him.
TV rights are negotiated locally for games not shown nationally in basketball and Los Angeles is one of the biggest markets in the country. Thanks to the closed shop nature of American sport, operating without relegation, there are few reasons to believe the money will ever stop rolling in.
