There have been a number of questions surrounding Mark Walter ever since news came out that he was selling his majority shares of the Los Angeles Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner. With it being less than a year since he officially took control of the franchise, it was extremely surprising to see him selling, even when considering the valuation he sold for.
It is known that some of Walter’s companies are under federal investigation for financial improprieties and some believe that could be a reason he has chosen to move on.
Walter has reportedly been looking to secure more cash recently and apparently has even reached out to Charter Communications, amongst other entities, in trying to do so, via John Ourand of Puck.news:
But since the sale was announced last week, I’ve learned that Walter has been looking to secure cash for months, and even engaged Charter Communications in talks to let the cable company out of the Lakers’ and Dodgers’ local TV deals early for a lump sum payout. Those talks went nowhere. Toward the end of last year, Charter hired the Raine Group to try and sell Spectrum SportsNet, the regional sports network that carries Lakers games. It’s unclear how Kushner and Iger’s purchase of the team will affect that process. Walter, meanwhile, has put his stake in the Premier League club Chelsea “on the table” to further address his liquidity concerns, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation. (A representative for Walter’s TWG Global did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
All of Walter’s recent moves certainly raises some eyebrows, but the most important thing, at least in regards to the Lakers, is whether any of this will affect the sale of his majority shares to Iger and Kushner. For the sake of the franchise, that being approved and having some sense of resolution at the very top is essential as training camp nears and the regular season is around the corner.
With Walter, Iger, Kushner, the Buss family and now Charter and Spectrum SportsNet being brought into this as well, there are a ton of moving parts and uncertainties that need to get worked out.
Buss family dispute not expected to threaten Mark Walter’s sale
Another issue that has caused some drama within the Lakers is Jeanie Buss contesting her siblings agreeing to sell the family’s remaining Lakers shares to Iger and Kushner. But that issue is not expected to hinder or threaten Walter’s sale of his majority shares.
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