The news on Wednesday that Mark Walter is selling his majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger was a complete stunner. There was no empirical indication that Walter was looking to sell his share of the team, especially since he only officially purchased it this past October.
There is lots of speculation now that certain circumstances surrounding Walter caused him to sell the franchise. Regardless, according to Iger, the former Walt Disney Company CEO, the sale agreement 'came together in three days" after he and Kushner pivoted from landing an NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas, via Khobi Price of the California Post.
“We were involved in pursuing the new franchise in Vegas,” Iger said during an exclusive phone call
with the California Post. “And while that happened, it was suggested to us that maybe Mark Walter would be interested in selling his stake in the Lakers. And we immediately decided that given the value of the franchise and the iconic nature of the team, that we would be really smart to pursue it. The deal came together in three days. It’s that simple.”
Per ESPN, Kushner and Iger are paying $12.5 billion in this sale. It is expected to take several weeks for the league to approve the sale before it becomes official.
Iger also said that Jeanie Buss, the governor of the Lakers, will remain in that role, as was previously agreed when Walter bought the franchise from the Buss family.
Buss' father, the late Dr. Jerry Buss, purchased the Lakers in 1979 from Jack Kent Cooke, and the Buss family had retained control of the franchise until Walter bought his share of it last year. When Dr. Buss passed away in 2013, ownership of the team was transferred to several of his children through a trust.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Iger: Agreement to purchase Lakers 'came together in three days'
