Ever since it was reported that Mark Walter had agreed to sell his majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, there have been questions about what caused Walter to move on from the franchise so soon. It obviously is well known that some of Walter’s companies have been under federal investigation for financial improprieties and the belief of many is that is the impetus for his sale of the Lakers.
There have also been other rumblings as Walter is reportedly also selling off his stake in English Premier League club Chelsea and some feel the Los Angeles Dodgers could be next as well. But Walter’s company TWG Global released a statement insisting that the sale of the Lakers was simply a matter of him being approached with an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“Regarding the proposed sale of the Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5 billion, Mr. Walter was approached by Josh Kushner and his team about this transaction and the agreement represents a 25% premium to the price paid by Mr. Walter less than a year ago (and an even higher premium to the $5.0 billion valuation Mr. Walter paid in 2021)—hardly a ‘fire sale,'” the holding company said in a statement disseminated Business Wire.
It is fair to say that a $2.5 billion increase in valuation just one year after taking over the Lakers is something no one could have predicted and Walter cashing out on that was the smart financial decision. Even still, with so much uncertainty and scrutiny surrounding all of his holdings, people want to know what is really going on because an owner selling that soon is just unheard of.
Calling this a “fire sale” is a bit unfair since, as TWG pointed out, those usually involve selling off at much lower prices than what things are worth and the Lakers were sold at a higher value. But, fair or not, until this investigation comes to a conclusion, there will continue to be questions and scrutiny surrounding every move Walter makes, regardless of these statements.
Joey and Jesse Buss join Padres ownership group
Along with this Lakers sale has been the news that the Buss siblings were looking to sell their remaining stake in the team as well, though that is its own saga. But two of those siblings, Joey and Jesse, have joined the ownership group of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball.
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