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The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most legendary organizations in basketball and the world of sports, and it was led by the Buss family for a long time. It looks like that time is coming to an end as Jeanie Buss plans on selling the franchise, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
“BREAKING: The Buss family is entering an agreement to sell majority ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers to Mark Walter, the CEO and chairman of diversified holding company TWG Global, sources tell ESPN. Jeanie Buss will continue to serve in her role as Governor after the sale,” Charania wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Walter also made history with the purchase, making it the largest in the sports world.
“Mark Walter is entering agreement to purchase majority ownership of the Lakers from the Buss family for a valuation of approximately $10 billion, the largest sale of a professional sports franchise in the world, sources tell ESPN. $10 billion,” Charania wrote.
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Walter has been a part of the Lakers since 2021 as a minority stakeholder, and he has an interest in several other sports organizations such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Sparks, the Billie Jean Cup, Cadillac Formula 1 team, and the Professional Women's Hockey League.
Since 1979, the Lakers have been owned by the Buss family, when Jerry Buss purchased the franchise from Jack Kent Cooke, which was worth $67.5 million. The transaction also included the Los Angeles Kings and the Los Angeles Forum.
When Jerry passed in 2013, the Lakers were passed to his children, and Jeanie has been the governor since. It will be interesting to see what direction the team will go in and if anything major will happen within the organization. Since Jeanie is still serving as the governor, there shouldn't be many changes, and the team itself can go on with its regular day-to-day.
