Fourteen months after Dodgers owner Mark Walter agreed to buy the Lakers for a record-breaking sum, majority ownership of L.A.’s iconic NBA franchise is being sold to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger for $12.5 billion, sources familiar with the matter but not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to The Times.

It is $2.5 billion more than the price paid when Walter’s purchase of the team from the Buss family was ratified last October. The current sale still has to be approved by the NBA’s board of governors.

Iger, Disney’s former chief executive, and Kushner, a venture capitalist and the younger brother of Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, recently were looking into buying an expansion franchise as the NBA eyed new teams in Seattle and Las Vegas. Walter, who also owns the Dodgers and the WNBA’s Sparks, has been at the center of a federal loan investigation.

“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,” Kushner and Iger said in a statement. “We have immense respect for the leadership and vision of Jerry and Jeanie Buss. 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 Dodgers and Sparks were not involved in the deal, according to a source familiar with the transaction but not authorized to speak publicly, and Walter is not looking to sell the Dodgers.

Walter’s holdings 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.

“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 a statement to ESPN, who first reported the sale Wednesday morning. “I am grateful to Jeanie Buss, the Buss family, the players, and the staff for welcoming me into this chapter. The Lakers belong to Los Angeles, and I have every confidence the best is still ahead.”

Jeanie Buss, receiving an award in May, is expected to remain the Lakers’ governor.

(Alex J. Berliner / Associated Press)

Buss, whose family owned the Lakers for more than four decades, remained the team’s governor despite selling controlling ownership last year. Minority owners still can serve as the team’s representative in league meetings if they own at least 15% of the team. Buss remained a fixture at games, sitting courtside during the season, with Walter occasionally joining her or sitting courtside near the baseline. The NBA announced in October after the sale was unanimously approved that Buss would be the governor for at least five years.

Iger told the California Post that Buss’ role will remain the same as it did during Walter’s tenure.

Lakers star Luka Doncic welcomed Kushner and Iger on social media.

“Being a Laker means everything to me, and I’m excited to get back on the court and bring a championship to LA,” Doncic wrote on X. “I’ve gotten used to big changes over these last few years, but I know that no matter what, there is no limit to the potential of this iconic franchise. I look forward to meeting Josh and Bob so we can get to work building something special in LA together.”

Buss responded, “well said.”

Patrick Soon-Shiong, who owns the L.A. Times Media Group and will remain a minority owner of the Lakers, welcomed his new business partners too.

“Go Lakers!” he posted on X. “Congrats Bob and Josh.”

Iger stepped down from his role as Disney CEO in mid-March, but he remains on the board of directors through December. The longtime executive and his wife, Willow Bay, the dean of USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, bought a controlling stake in Angel City FC when the National Women’s Soccer League expanded to Los Angeles in 2024, and led a project to build an NFL stadium in Carson before the league instead returned to Inglewood, where Rams owner Stan Kroenke built SoFi Stadium.

Mark Walter, chairman and controlling owner of the Dodgers, has no intentions of selling the team, according to sources.

(Melissa Tamez / Associated Press)

Kushner also owns a minority stake in the NBA’s Miami Heat, which he bought in 2024 and must sell to finalize the Lakers purchase. He was previously a minority owner in the Memphis Grizzlies. This year, his venture capital firm Thrive Capital launched Thrive Eternal, which is focused on long-term ownership of a small number of iconic franchises and cultural institutions, and acquired a stake in the San Francisco Giants as its first foray into sports.

Thrive Eternal was at the center of a plan to buy tournament rights to the FIFA World Cup, but the controversial deal collapsed amid outrage, including a boycott from UEFA, the governing body for European soccer.

“Both of them love basketball,” Lakers legend Magic Johnson said in an interview with The Times. “And I think they’ll take us in the right direction. … First I was happy because it was Mark Walter and now I’m even happier that it’s Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, so we got the right two people to own the team. Bob lived here, Bob worked here, on and on and on. And he wants to win. Both of them want to win. And you gotta have people who want to win. They’ll bring all the resources and make sure they bring a championship to Laker fans and L.A.”

In his short tenure, Walter and TWG Global started remaking front-office and business operations with the Lakers. The franchise was investing in assistant general manager positions this offseason, growing its sports science resources with the help of the Dodgers and moving G League operations from the South Bay to the Coachella Valley. Lakers general manager and president of basketball Rob Pelinka called the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers and Lakers “brother-sister” organizations.

Despite being one of the NBA’s marquee franchises, the Lakers, who had been a family-run team for 46 years since Jerry Buss bought the franchise in 1979, were starting to fall behind in the booming NBA business. Within months of buying the team, Walter installed Dodgers executive Lon Rosen to oversee business operations. Rosen added new roles to drive revenue, oversee business strategy and grow interest in the franchise domestically and internationally.

The Lakers added a second row of courtside seats during playoff games, sold a uniform sponsorship to Daiso for the Laker Girls dance team and agreed to a new jersey patch deal with Albert, a personal financial assistant app. The team also laid off more than a dozen employees in May, soon after the season ended with a second-round playoff sweep by the Oklahoma City Thunder.