The owner Jeanie Buss of Los Angeles Lakers and Jay Mohr before the match of a first NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves in Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Saturday April 19, 2025.
Keith Birmingham | Group Medianews | Pasadena Star-News | Getty images
The bus family has agreed to sell a majority participation of the Los Angeles Lakers in the businessman Mark Walter in an agreement that values the team at $ 10 billion, according to people knowing the conditions.
The sale would mark a new record for NBA assessments. The Arena Crypto.com, where the Lakers play, belong to AEG and are not included in the agreement.
The most recent CNBC’s official NBA assessments have classified the third in value Lakers in terms of value, to $ 7 billion.
“Mark Walter concludes an agreement to acquire additional interests in the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA, which he has been a stakeholder since 2021,” a Walter representative said in a press release at CNBC.
The Lakers did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
As part of the agreement, Jeanie Buss will keep a minority participation in the team she has owned since her family bought the franchise in 1979 for 67.5 million dollars. It will also retain its governor headquarters.
Walter is CEO and co-founder of Guggenheim Partners and is not new for the sports property. He is also the majority owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers of MLB, the Sparks of the WNBA and the next Formula 1 team from Cadillac. He also has the professional female hockey league.
The former legend of the Earvin Lakers “Magic” Johnson, who is also a trading partner of Walter’s, praised the transaction in an article on X.
“Job well done to my sister Jeanie Buss for having concluded an incredible affair and choosing the right person to continue the heritage and tradition of the Lakers,” said Johnson. “Mark Walter is the best choice and will be the best goalkeeper of the Laker brand.”
The NBA assessments have skyrocketed since the League concluded its last media rights agreement, worth $ 77 billion over 11 years.
In March, the Boston Celtics sold for a record of $ 6.1 billion to the director of Private Equity Bill Chisholm.
The Celtics and Lakers are undoubtedly two of the most marked franchises in the NBA.
In February, the Lakers acquired the Dallas Mavericks superstar, Luka Doncic, to team up with LeBron James.
The Lakers finished the 2025 season as seeded n ° 3 of the Western Conference with a 50-32 file.
The Lakers won 11 NBA titles since the bus family took over, most of any NBA franchise during this period.
– Michael Ozanian of CNBC contributed to this report.