NewzThe Los Angeles Lakers are being sold to businessmen Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for a record-breaking price, the second such sale in a year.This sale agreement is $12.5 billion, according to a person familiar with the terms who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because neither side revealed specific details.ESPN first reported that Kushner and Iger are buying the NBA's most valuable franchise, which was valued last year at $10 billion when Mark Walter purchased a controlling stake from the Buss family. The two businessmen had been involved in trying to get an expansion team for Las Vegas.By buying the Lakers, Iger and Kushner simply dont have to wait for that decision. Expansion, if it happens, could take place in the 2028-29 season.The sale still will need approval from the NBAs board of governors, and that process can take several weeks.
The next board meeting is set for next month in New York.The $12.5 billion price tag is not only record-setting for U.S. pro sports but it continues a trend of NBA franchise values skyrocketing. Only three years ago, Michael Jordan sold his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets for a $3 billion valuation, and the Boston Celtics were sold last year at a valuation of just over $6 billion -- which was then a record.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold for the second time in a year, going to businessmen Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for a record-breaking price. This sale agreement is $12.5 billion, according to a person familiar with the terms who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because neither side revealed specific details of the latest stunning development with one of North America’s marquee sports teams. ESPN first reported that Kushner and Iger are buying the NBA’s most valuable franchise.
The Lakers were valued last year at $10 billion — a record for a pro sports team — when Mark Walter purchased a controlling stake from the Buss family, which had owned the team since 1979. Kushner, a venture capitalist, and former Walt Disney Company CEO Iger had been working together on landing a possible NBA expansion team for Las Vegas. By buying the Lakers, they don’t have to wait until the possibility of expansion in the 2028-29 season at the earliest.
The sale still will need approval from the NBA’s board of governors, and that process can take several weeks. The next board meeting is set for September in New York. The $12.5 billion price tag is not only a record for U.S.
pro sports but a new summit in skyrocketing NBA franchise values. Walter’s agreement to purchase a controlling stake in the Lakers at the $10 billion valuation last summer obliterated that mark, and now Iger and Kushner have pushed the bar even higher. The 66-year-old Walter’s shocking decision to sell the Lakers after just 10 months of official ownership is reverberating throughout the team’s massive fan base, which appeared to be uniformly excited about the purchase last year.
Summary from source