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Adou Thiero of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks against the Golden State Warriors on July 18 in Las Vegas.
Ian Maule/Getty Images
Thrive Capital founder Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger are acquiring the Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5 billion, the highest price paid for an American sports team, ESPN reported on Wednesday.
Kushner and Iger initially sought majority ownership of a new NBA franchise set to be launched in Las Vegas, but pivoted to purchasing the Lakers outright.
The duo is buying the team, the second-most successful in the history of US professional basketball, from Mark Walter, founder of holding company TWG and co-founder and CEO of investment bank Guggenheim Partners.
Walter bought the team from the Buss family, which had owned it since 1979, in June 2025 for the then-record-breaking franchise valuation of $10 billion. The deal was only approved by the NBA Board of Governors in October.
The sale of one of the National Basketball Association’s most revered teams is yet another example of financiers’ involvement in the world of professional sports.
In North America, 75 major sports teams valued at $283.1 billion across Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, National Football League, Major League Soccer and the NBA have connections to private equity, either through financing or owner affiliation with the industry, according to PitchBook’s PE sports dashboard.
In 2021, the NBA was the first major professional sports league in the US to approve PE ownership, with investment manager Blue Owl named the first approved buyer. Today, 20 of the 30 NBA teams have a PE connection—the most of the five leagues included in the analysis. The total estimated valuation of these investments is around $103.3 billion, according to PitchBook.
Related read:LPs shoot for rare access to NBA stakes as valuations soar
TWG Global has investments spanning insurance, AI and technology, merchant banking and sports media and entertainment, according to its website.
Among its other sports properties are the MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers, WNBA team the Los Angeles Sparks, the Cadillac Formula 1 team and NASCAR team Spire Sports.
Walter, who made his billions in the asset management and insurance industry, is currently under federal investigation for alleged securities fraud at two of his insurance companies, Delaware Life Insurance Co. and Clear Spring Life and Annuity Co.
He has been accused by the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, the SEC and the FBI of failing to disclose $16 billion in loans tied to both Walter and TWG Global after passing through a third-party entity.
The Lakers’ short ownership stint and swift sale are part of Walter’s effort to raise money to pay down the loans against the insurers, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
Kushner currently owns a minority stake in the Miami Heat and previously owned a part of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Iger assumed an advisory role at Thrive Capital in April, having briefly worked there as a venture partner in 2022.
This article originally appeared on PitchBook News
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