- Josh Kushner and Bob Iger are buying the Los Angeles Lakers for over $12 billion
- They shifted focus from NBA Las Vegas expansion to purchase the Lakers from Mark Walter
- Walter bought controlling interest in the Lakers from the Buss family last year
Josh Kushner and Bob Iger are buying the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team for a record-breaking price of more than $12 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Kushner, managing partner and co-founder at Thrive Capital, and Iger, former chief executive officer of Walt Disney Co., had been involved in the NBA's expansion process in Las Vegas but pivoted to make an offer to buy the Lakers from financier Mark Walter instead. Walter purchased a controlling interest in the team from the Buss family last year. ESPN reported earlier on the deal.
“As lifelong NBA fans, we are deeply honored for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world,” Iger and Kushner wrote in a statement. “We have immense respect for the leadership and vision of Jerry and Jeanie Buss. Our long-term commitment is to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans, and the city of Los Angeles.”
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Iger stepped down from the head of Disney, the parent company of ESPN, earlier this year. He and his wife Willow Bay previously acquired control of women's soccer team Angel City FC in 2024.
“It's stunning in terms of the amount and size,” said Lee Berke, CEO of sports media consultancy LHB Sports, Entertainment & Media. “If I was an NBA team, I'd be thrilled.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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