The Buss family is turning the Los Angeles Lakers over to a new owner in the largest sale of a U.S. professional sports team all-time.
Mark Walter, the CEO and chairman of diversified holding company TWG Global, will be purchasing majority ownership of the NBA franchise in a deal that’s expected to have a valuation of approximately $10 billion, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
While the Lakers’ ownership won’t be in the hands of the Buss family for the first time since 1979, Jeanie Buss will remain Lakers governor, a position she’s held since Jerry Buss died in 2013.
Additionally, the Buss family will maintain just over a 15% share of the team for “a period of time,” according to Charania.
But Yahoo Sports has the background you need to know about the Lakers’ new owner, Mark Walter.
Mark Walter is the Los Angeles Dodgers’ primary owner
Walter, 65, has served as the controlling owner of the Dodgers since 2012. Back in May of that year, Guggenheim Baseball Management bought the MLB franchise from Frank McCourt for $2.15 billion, at the time an MLB record.
Walter, also CEO of investment and advisory firm Guggenheim Partners, spearheaded the move, but he was accompanied by longtime sports executive Stan Kasten and Lakers legend Magic Johnson, who are both part-owners. The investor group notably included Todd Boehly, who is the CEO of holding company Eldridge Industries and also a frequent business partner of Walter’s.
Kasten is the team’s president, however, Walter is the at the forefront of the ownership consortium.
With Walter as the Dodgers’ primary owner, the team has won a pair of World Series titles, one in 2020 and another last season in 2024. The Dodgers haven’t missed the postseason since their three-year drought from 2009-12.
Mark Walter has been a stakeholder in the Lakers since 2021
Walter became a stakeholder in the Lakers in 2021. It was then that he received a right of first refusal on the majority share of the team, according to Charania’s Wednesday report.
In July of that year, sports and entertainment company AEG announced that Walter and Boehly had acquired 27% minority interest in the Lakers.
Boehly joined the Los Angeles Lakers Board of Directors and represented his interests as well as Walter’s.
Johnson, who won five NBA championships with the Lakers in the ’80s, shared his excitement about his business partner’s newest purchase Wednesday.
“Laker fans should be estatic,” Johnson wrote on social media. “A few things I can tell you about Mark — he is driven by winning, excellence, and doing everything the right way. AND he will put in the resources needed to win!
“I can understand why Jeanie sold the team to Mark Walter because they are just alike — they are competitive people, [they] have big hearts, love to give back, and both prefer to be behind the scenes. This makes all the sense in the world. I am so so SO happy and excited for Lakers all over the world.”
Johnson also said in another post on X that Jeanie Buss and Walter share “a real friendship.”
“Both are extremely intelligent, visionaries, great leaders, and have positively impacted the greater Los Angeles community!” Johnson wrote.
Mark Walter has interests in other pro sports organizations, too
In addition to owning the Dodgers — and soon the Lakers — Walter is involved in the WNBA and F1. Plus, he’s a part-owner of a Premier League soccer team.
Walter joined Boehly in purchasing Chelsea F.C. from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in 2022. While Boehly leads that consortium, BlueCo, Walter holds a minority stake in the club.
In 2014, Walter bought a stake in the Los Angeles Sparks, who then won the league title two years later in 2016.
Walter’s company TWG Global owns the Cadillac F1 team.
Through the Mark Walter Group, Walter also owns the Professional Women’s Hockey League, which debuted in 2023-24.
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