FILE PHOTO: Mar 17, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; The Los Angeles Lakers logo at midcourt at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images/File Photo
(Reuters) -The Buss family have agreed to sell a majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to TWG Global CEO Mark Walter, the two parties confirmed on Wednesday, while adding that Jeanie Buss will remain governor of the storied NBA franchise.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but when the news was first reported last week it said the agreement valued the 17-times NBA champion Lakers at $10 billion, making it the largest-ever sale of a professional sports team.
Walter, who has ownership interests in several professional sports teams including MLB's Los Angeles Dodgers and the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks, has been a minority owner of the Lakers since 2021.
"From the day our father purchased the Lakers, we have been determined to deliver what the City of Los Angeles deserves and demands: a team that is committed to winning – relentlessly – and to doing so with passion and with style," Buss said in a news release.
"I have gotten to know Mark very well over time and been delighted to learn how he shares those same values."
The sale is expected to close in the third or fourth quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions including obtaining NBA approval, the two parties said.
The late Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers in 1979 and turned the team into one of the world's most popular sports franchises, winning five championships during their now-iconic "Showtime" era in the 1980s.
Through the years the Lakers' rosters have featured world-famous talents such as Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James.
Jeanie Buss, who took over as principal owner after her father Jerry died in 2013 and became one of the most powerful women in sport, will oversee all team operations on a day-to-day basis for the foreseeable future.
"Since Dr Jerry Buss first purchased the team in 1979, they have truly set the standard for basketball in one era after another, which is why you can find people anywhere in the world wearing Lakers shirts and jerseys," said Walter.
"I admire what he, 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."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
