Buss Family Cedes Lakers Majority to Mark Walter
A significant agreement shakes up the NBA landscape. The Buss family has reached an agreement to sell the majority ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers to Mark Walter, CEO of the diversified holding company TWG Global. This is reported by sources close to the negotiation.
Jeanie Buss, daughter of the legendary Jerry Buss, will continue to serve as governor of the Lakers, according to the same sources.
Walter, a prominent figure in the sports world, has holdings in various professional sports organizations. These include the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Sparks, the Billie Jean Cup, the Cadillac Formula One team, and the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
The Buss family has owned the Lakers since 1979, when Jerry Buss acquired the franchise from Jack Kent Cooke in a $67.5 million transaction that also included the Los Angeles Kings and the Los Angeles Forum.
After the death of Jerry Buss in 2013, the ownership of the Lakers passed to his children, and Jeanie Buss took over as governor.
Walter already had a stake in the Lakers since 2021, the year in which he also obtained the right of first refusal on the majority stake in the team.
