(CNN) — In a stunning twist, former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner are buying one of the greatest trophy assets in US sports: The Los Angeles Lakers.
Iger and Kushner, the brother of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, are shelling out a record-breaking $12.5 billion for the basketball team, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.
The sale comes less than a year after the NBA approved billionaire Mark Walter as the storied franchise’s majority owner.
Iger and Kushner confirmed the deal, first reported by ESPN, in a statement on Wednesday.
“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,” Iger and Kushner said in the statement. “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.”
The deal still needs the approval of the NBA’s Board of Governors to be completed.
The Lakers sale came together very quickly in just the past few days when Kushner and Iger reached out to Lakers ownership with a proposal, the person familiar with the matter told CNN.
With 17 championships, the Lakers are one of the most successful teams in NBA history. They most recently won the title in the 2019-20 season.
Mark Walter, whose Guggenheim Investments, owns the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, bought a majority interest in the Lakers in a deal announced just over a year ago.
That deal valued the team at $10 billion, although Walter did not buy 100% ownership. He has run the team since last October.
“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,” Walter said in statement to ESPN.
But the quick sale of the team is a stunning turn of events in a business where teams typically go decades under the same ownership.
“No one flips a premiere sports franchise in less than a year. I’ve never seen anything like this,” one banker involved in sports deals told CNN.
News of the sale comes as Walter’s financial business is mired in legal trouble.
Late last month, The Wall Street Journal reported an internal whistleblower complaint about Walter’s Guggenheim Investments triggered a federal investigation.
CNN has not independently confirmed the investigation, and a spokesperson for Guggenheim’s parent company told the Journal they have “always acted in good faith,” are cooperating with authorities and are confident it will get “resolved favorably.”
Thrive Eternal, a new holding company focused on sports and entertainment investments, is expected to be involved in financing the Lakers purchase, the source told CNN.
If approved, the source said Kushner would be the controlling owner and Iger is expected to be deeply involved in a leadership capacity.
This story has been updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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