Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, the former chief executive of the Walt Disney Company, have reached a deal to buy the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most iconic franchises in the history of basketball. The agreement, reported to be worth more than 12 billion dollars, would hand control of the storied NBA club to the pair, who are set to run the franchise going forward as it enters a new era of ownership.
According to the reporting, the deal values the Lakers at around 12.5 billion dollars, a figure equivalent to roughly 62 billion Brazilian reais. That price tag sets a new record, standing as the richest sale of an American sports team in history. The scale of the transaction underlines just how much the value of marquee sports franchises has climbed, with the Lakers among the most valuable prizes in world sport.
Until now, the franchise had belonged to the billionaire Mark Walter. He had acquired a majority stake in the Lakers only last year, in a deal that at the time valued the club at around 10 billion dollars. That earlier transaction had already been a landmark, making the swift move to sell the team again a notable and unexpected turn of events.
What has drawn particular attention is the speed of the turnaround. Less than a year after taking his majority stake, Walter is now agreeing to sell the club for about 12.5 billion dollars, a striking jump from the valuation attached to the franchise just months earlier. The rapid rise in the reported price highlights the intense demand for elite sports assets among the world's wealthiest investors.
The new ownership pairing brings together two high-profile figures. Josh Kushner is an investor, while Bob Iger is best known for his long tenure leading Disney, the parent company of ABC News. Both have been described as long-time basketball fans, and their involvement signals the growing appetite among business and entertainment heavyweights to take stakes in top-tier professional sports teams.
The story was broken by ESPN, with reporter Ramona Shelburne among those detailing how the agreement came together. According to accounts from around the league, the deal was assembled remarkably quickly, and it caught many by surprise because it had not been widely known that the Lakers were even up for sale. That element of secrecy has only added to the sense of astonishment around the transaction.
Mark Walter, the seller, is a businessman who built his fortune in the insurance industry before moving into the world of sports ownership. For the Lakers, one of the most decorated and closely followed teams in the NBA, the change of hands marks a significant moment. Attention will now turn to how Kushner and Iger intend to steward a franchise that carries such a powerful place in basketball history.
