Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger have reached an agreement to buy the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers for more than $12 billion, according to ESPN, a surprise deal that will end Mark Walter’s ownership of the team after less than a year.
This marks an expansion of Kushner’s rapidly growing sports profile. His Thrive Capital invested earlier this year in the San Francisco Giants, and it was in talks to lead the now-doomed investment into FIFA’s $20 billion commercial rights venture. He and Iger, who was a longtime Disney CEO and chairman, was one of the groups most serious about buying the NBA expansion team in Las Vegas—their Lakers purchase could clear the path for another finalist, the Walton Laurie family.
Kushner will be the control person, a representative from Thrive told Sportico.
“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,” Kushner and Iger said in a statement. “We have immense respect for the leadership and vision of Jerry and Jeanie Buss. Our long-term commitment is to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans and the city of Los Angeles.”
