Lakers Sold Again: Kushner and Iger Buy Team for $12.5B From Mark Walter
A year after buying the Lakers, Mark Walter agrees to sell to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger amid a federal tax-fraud probe into his companies.
Conversation activity · last 16 hours peak 67/30m
Latest coverage newest 6 of 257 items
Summary, timeline and people extracted by Claude from 298 items across 9 sources · 14h ago. Quotes are verbatim.
What to know
- Josh Kushner and Bob Iger have agreed to buy the Los Angeles Lakers from Mark Walter for more than $12 billion, a record price for a sports franchise.
- Walter bought a controlling stake in the team from the Buss family only about a year earlier, at a roughly $10 billion valuation.
- The sale comes amid a federal investigation, first reported by Bloomberg in July, into whether Walter-controlled insurers hid ties between their private credit holdings and his other ventures.
- The deal still requires approval from the NBA's board of governors, expected at a meeting next month in New York.
How it unfolded
-
ESPN, Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, the Guardian and others confirmed the reported sale, noting it still requires approval from the NBA's board of governors, expected next month in New York.
-
Kushner and Iger issued a joint statement praising the Buss family legacy, while Walter released a statement reflecting on his ownership tenure.
“As lifelong NBA fans, we are deeply honored for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers.”
Josh Kushner and Bob Iger · Press ↗ -
Commenters online noted the timing of Walter's sale coming a week after news of the SEC investigation into his companies.
“Mark Walter selling RAPIDLY to a Kushner a week after the SEC probe into him was announced?”
netw3rk.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗ -
A self-described Lakers fan objected to the buyer's family ties to Jared Kushner and said they would cancel season tickets.
“F*&K anyone remotely connected to KUSHNER ... will CANCEL my season tickets this week.”
thebluenami.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗ -
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reported that Josh Kushner and Bob Iger agreed to purchase the Lakers from Mark Walter for a record $12.5 billion, after the pair pivoted from pursuing a Las Vegas expansion franchise.
“The Lakers are being sold to American businessmen Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for over $12 billion, a record-breaking price, multiple sources told ESPN.”
Ramona Shelburne · Mastodon ↗ - 6 weeks quiet
-
U.S. prosecutors in Manhattan and the SEC are examining whether Delaware Life Insurance and Clear Spring Life, both controlled by Walter, failed to disclose that private credit holdings backed his other ventures.
- 39 weeks quiet
-
Mark Walter's purchase of a controlling interest in the Lakers from the Buss family, valuing the team at roughly $10 billion, was unanimously approved by the NBA.
What people are saying verbatim
“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.”
Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, Prospective Lakers owners · ESPN · Aug 11
“Owning the Los Angeles Lakers has been one of the great honors of my life -- an extraordinary investment, but what I will carry with me is the community, the fans, and a city that treats this team as family.”
Mark Walter, Outgoing Lakers owner, TWG Global CEO · ESPN · Aug 11
“Mark Walter selling RAPIDLY to a Kushner a week after the SEC probe into him was announced?”
netw3rk.bsky.social, Bluesky poster · Bluesky ↗ · Aug 11
“F*&K anyone remotely connected to KUSHNER ... would love to support LUKA, but this ain't it. will CANCEL my season tickets this week.”
thebluenami.bsky.social, Self-described Lakers fan · Bluesky ↗ · Aug 11
“Jared Kushner's little brother is buying the LA Lakers along with Disney CEO Bob Iger.”
linuxandyarn@hachyderm.io, Mastodon poster · Mastodon ↗ · Aug 11
The conversation positions from the crowd, verbatim
Early reaction online is dominated by shock at how quickly Walter is selling a team he bought just over a year ago, with many commenters connecting the sale directly to the federal/SEC probe into his companies and others reacting negatively to Josh Kushner's family ties to Jared Kushner and the Trump administration.
The dispute Whether the sale is simply a business transaction or is suspiciously timed to distance Walter from his federal probe.
The rushed sale looks connected to Walter's ongoing federal tax-fraud/SEC investigation.
-
“Mark Walter selling RAPIDLY to a Kushner a week after the SEC probe into him was announced?”
netw3rk.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
Buying the Lakers via Josh Kushner's family connection to Jared Kushner/Trump is objectionable and evokes oligarchic influence over sports ownership.
-
“F*&K anyone remotely connected to KUSHNER ... will CANCEL my season tickets this week.”
thebluenami.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗ -
“Jared Kushner's little brother is buying the LA Lakers along with Disney CEO Bob Iger.”
linuxandyarn@hachyderm.io · Mastodon ↗
- Will the NBA's board of governors approve the sale given Walter's ongoing federal investigation?
- Does the Kushner family's political ties (via Jared Kushner) create conflicts of interest in NBA ownership?
Voices from the web unedited
-
🚨 The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold for a record-breaking price of $12 BILLION to American businessmen Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, per @ramonashelburne The franchise has now been sold twice in less than 18 months 😳
-
Mark Walter selling RAPIDLY to a Kushner a week after the SEC probe into him was announced?
-
The Los Angeles Lakers NBA franchise being sold to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for $12.5 billion, a record-breaking price. https://www. espn.com/nba/story/_/id/495903 62/josh-kushner-bob-iger-buy-lakers-12b
-
"Mark, we caught you doing some illegal shit." "Oh fuck, what's going to happen to me?" "Well, Jared's brother wants the Lakers, so you'll have to give him that, but you'll get $2.5 billion in profits, so you'll be OK." "Why does everything bad only happen to me?!"
-
The Los Angeles Lakers just sold for $12.5 billion, the most expensive sale in American sports history. And there’s some for a lack of better words, interesting connections. The seller is Mark Walter, who is under active federal investigation. The buyer is Josh Kushner who’s
-
Dear Lakers fans: might be time to switch to another team… BREAKING: Los Angeles Lakers sold to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for $12 billion
-
Who is incoming Lakers owner Joshua Kushner? https://www. nytimes.com/athletic/7509234/2 026/08/12/joshua-kushner-lakers-new-owner/ Kushner shocked the sports world by partnering with former Disney CEO Bob Iger to agree to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers. # Basketball
-
If the Lakers somehow win the championship next year, will Trump be there to hoist the LOB trophy at the presentation? Will he then keep it for himself in the Oval Office and/or become a part of his presidential library?
-
The Lakers $12.5 billion sale is about much more than Mark Walter flipping the team for a quick profit. The real story involves an FBI investigation, an expansion team in Las Vegas, and a new investment fund that just tried to do a deal with FIFA. READ:
-
The $12.5 billion sale valuation is the largest in sports history.