Mark Walter, Josh Kushner agree on outstanding terms linked to $12.5-billion Lakers sale
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- Lakers owner Mark Walter and Josh Kushner have reached an agreement on all of the previously undecided terms tied to the $12.5-billion sale of the NBA team.
- The agreement between Walter and Kushner, which still needs to be signed, must be approved by the NBA’s board of governors before the sale becomes official.
Lakers owner Mark Walter and Josh Kushner of Thrive Capital have agreed to the outstanding terms of the team’s sale, valued at an NBA-record $12.5 billion, according to several people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Kushner, a venture capitalist and the younger brother of Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, met at the Florida home of Walter, owner of the Dodgers and chief executive of Guggenheim Partners, to finalize the terms of the agreement, according to one person.
The agreement between Walter and Kushner, which still needs to be signed, will need to be reviewed by the NBA. The league’s Board of Governors will then have to approve the sale before it becomes official.
Janie and Joey Buss asked a judge on Friday to dismiss Jeanie Buss’ claim the family trust cannot the sell Lakers shares without her consent.
It’s unclear if Walter has given Kushner a deadline to close the deal, but Kushner has assured Walter that he has the funds to complete the transaction.
Bob Iger, Disney’s former chief executive, is in partnership with Kushner on the deal.
Walter bought a majority ownership stake in the Lakers in 2025 from the Buss family, who had owned the Lakers for more than four decades, for an evaluation of $10 billion. He agreed to sell the Lakers less than a year after officially becoming the team owner.
Walter has been at the center of a federal loan investigation. His holding company, TWG Global, is in talks with investors to raise money to help pay down loans on the books of its insurers that had drawn scrutiny from the Justice Department, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources. He and Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly sold their small stake in the English Premier League club Chelsea last month, The Financial Times reported, and he reportedly is seeking to sell the WNBA’s Sparks.
In August, Dodgers president Stan Kasten said Walter will not sell the Dodgers, a stance reiterated in a statement issued by Walter’s holdings company in September.
The Lakers take a 21-point lead in the first quarter and build it to 25 before the Warriors race back to tie the score at halftime and win the second-half battle.
