Buss family to sell controlling stake of Lakers to Mark Walter for $10B valuation

Buss family to sell controlling stake of Lakers to Mark Walter for $10B valuation

Who Is Mark Walter? What To Know About The New Lakers Owner

The Los Angeles Lakers are undergoing a historic change with reports indicating that the Buss family will be selling a majority ownership stake in the organization to Mark Walter.

Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers in 1979 and the franchise won 11 championships under his family’s watch, building the biggest global brand in sports. That is reflected by the sale $10 billion , which is the highest ever for a sports franchise. Walter, who also owns the L.A. Dodgers, first purchased roughly 26% of the Lakers after agreeing to a deal with Philip Anschutz in 2021 for 1.35 billion, or a $5 billion valuation.

Walter, 65, is the CEO of the global investment and advisory financial services firm Guggenheim Partners, and CEO and founder of holding company TWG Global. He grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and attended Creighton University before getting his doctorate at Northwestern University. According to Forbes, his net worth is $6.1 billion, although reports have varied.

TWG Global is American multinational conglomerate holding company created by Walter as an investment vehicle and holdings company for his various investments in multiple industries. TWG is invested in industries that include financial services, insurance, artificial intelligence, technology, sports and entertainment, and merchant banking with reports of more than $340 billion in assets under management.

What sports teams Mark Walter owns

In addition to the Lakers, Mark Walter also is the primary owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Sparks, auto racing organization Andretti Global, which operates the Cadillac Formula 1 team, and the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). He also owns 12.7% of BlueCo, a holding company that controls Premier League club Chelsea and Ligue 1 club RC Strasbourg.Walter’s investment group of Guggenheim Baseball Management, which includes Lakers legend Magic Johnson, purchased the Dodgers in 2012 for $2.2 billion. Under their watch, the Dodgers have won 11 division champions, reached the postseason in 12 straight years and won two World Series championships.

Walter has built the Dodgers into a juggernaut, not only outspending teams, but investing in the core of the organization both on and off the field to ensure their success is sustainable.Other members of the Dodgers’ ownership group include Todd Boehly, Peter Guber, Stan Kasten, Bobby Patton, Billie Jean King, Ilana Kloss, Alan Smolinisky, and Robert L. Plummer.Walter and Johnson led the ownership group that purchased the Sparks in 2014, and the team won the championship in 2016 and returned to the WNBA Finals in 2017.

The Buss family has agreed to sell the controlling stake of the Los Angeles Lakers to TWG Global CEO Mark Walter, doing so with a franchise valuation of $10 billion — the highest ever for a professional sports franchise, a person with knowledge of the agreement said Wednesday.The agreement for the sale of the Lakers comes about three months after Bill Chisholm agreed to buy the Boston Celtics with an initial valuation of $6.1 billion — which was going to be a record, topping the previous mark of $6.05 billion sale for the NFL’s Washington Commanders. The Celtics’ sale is not yet finalized, pending final approval by the NBA’s board of governors. That board is scheduled to meet in Las Vegas next month.And now, the Lakers are sold with a valuation of $10 billion — not just a record, but a total smashing of the previous mark.

The Lakers have been in the control of the Buss family for 46 years, the longest of any current NBA franchise. Herb Simon bought the Indiana Pacers — currently in the NBA Finals — in 1983, the second-longest current ownership of an NBA club.Jerry Buss bought the Lakers for $67.5 million and made it to the NBA Finals 16 times out of his 34 seasons leading the club, winning 10 championships in that span. When he died in 2013, ownership of the Lakers went into a trust controlled by Buss’ six children — who all worked for the Lakers in various capacities for several years.

Eventually, the family began clashing over control. An agreement was struck in 2017 calling for Jeanie Buss to serve as controlling owner, ending a battle that included her going to court after her brothers Jim and Johnny Buss called for a board meeting that she interpreted as a challenge to her power — shortly after she removed Jim Buss as the Lakers’ executive vice president of basketball operations.