The Buss family plans to sell its remaining 17.8% ownership stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to new majority owners Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.
The Buss family trust — composed of siblings Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse — received majority votes to allow trustees to execute the sale. It required four of six votes to enact the tag-along provision of Mark Walter’s sale to Kushner and Iger, which valued the Lakers at $12.5 billion.
Upon the completion of the transaction,
Jeanie Buss will no longer have the required ownership percentage to remain governor of the franchise. Jeanie retained her governorship for a period of at least five years as part of the deal to sell controlling ownership of the Lakers to business tycoon Mark Walter last June. She has served as the governor of the Lakers since 2013, taking over after her father, Dr. Jerry Buss, died.
The Buss family released this statement to ESPN:
“We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction. We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.”
The Buss family’s planned sale comes less than a week after the stunning news that Walter agreed to sell his controlling interest of the Lakers to venture capitalist Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger for $12 billion. Walter had purchased his controlling interest from the Buss family just 14 months ago for a reported $10 billion valuation.
Kushner and Iger are buying about 65% of the franchise in their deal with Walter. With the shares from the Buss family, their ownership stake will be roughly 83%, Charania explained.
Today’s news signals the end of the storied relationship between a historic NBA family and a historic NBA franchise. The Buss family has owned and operated the Lakers since Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the franchise on March 29, 1979, for $67.5 million. The franchise passed to his children when he passed away in 2013.
