The Buss family has agreed to sell its remaining minority ownership shares in the Los Angeles Lakers, a move that contradicts a previous agreement concerning Jeanie Buss's role as the team's Governor. The sale is to new majority co-owners Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, who are finalizing a $12.5 billion purchase of the franchise with Mark Walter.
Last year, Walter acquired majority ownership from the Buss family at a valuation of $10 billion. At that time, the NBA announced that Buss would remain the team's Governor for a minimum of five years. Iger had previously indicated to the California Post that he and Kushner intended to honor this agreement.
However, the Buss family trust, comprising six of Jerry Buss's children, required a majority vote of four out of six siblings to permit the trustees to sell their shares. Reports indicate that while Jeanie Buss did not vote in favor of selling the family's stake, the other five siblings did. Consequently, the trustees are now set to execute the sale.
Upon the completion of the sale, Jeanie Buss will relinquish her position as the Lakers' Governor. She has held this title since her father, Jerry Buss, passed away in February 2013. The NBA mandates that a franchise's Governor must possess at least a 15% ownership stake in the team. The Buss family's collective remaining shares accounted for approximately 18% of the franchise prior to this sale.
The Governor serves as the official representative and voting member for a franchise on the NBA's Board of Governors. "We have enormous respect and appreciation for Jeanie, her father and what they’ve contributed to this franchise," Iger told the Post. "And we have every intention to honor the agreement that was made between Mark and Jeanie. If things change, they’ll change, but we’re going into this with enormous respect and appreciation for who she is and what she represents in the organization."