By Lisa Richwine and Amy Tennery
LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK, Aug 12 (Reuters) – Venture capitalist Joshua Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger are set to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers, with the deal valued at a record $12.5 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter on Wednesday.
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Billionaire Mark Walter purchased a majority stake in the NBA team last year in a deal that valued the club at $10 billion, with the deal only having been approved by the board of governors in October.
Walter’s financial empire faces a federal probe, according to reports last month, examining links between investments held by his insurers and affiliates. Walter is also the owner of Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers.
“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,” Iger and Kushner 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 two businessmen had previously been tied to a potential expansion NBA team in Las Vegas but seemingly ended that campaign with Wednesday’s news, which stunned fans and industry experts.
The deal requires sign-off from the board of governors. It is also pending due diligence by Kushner’s Thrive Eternal, a new investment strategy launched by his venture capital firm Thrive Capital, a source said.
MAGIC PRAISES IGER
“I want to congratulate my good friend Bob Iger and Josh Kushner on their purchase of the Los Angeles Lakers!” Lakers great Earvin “Magic” Johnson posted on social media.
“Laker fans, you couldn’t have two better owners. I’ve known Bob personally for over 40 years – he has always loved the Lakers and basketball and he will bring championships back to LA.”
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As CEO of Disney, Iger oversaw sports network ESPN and built relationships with the NBA while the company entered into multi-billion dollar broadcast deals for games. He retired from Disney in March.
Iger previously took a majority stake in NWSL side Angel City FC.
On the court, the Lakers are in a period of transition after the league’s all-time leading scorer LeBron James left the team in the offseason to join the Philadelphia 76ers.
FIFA FALLOUT
The deal comes just weeks after Kushner emerged as a central figure in a controversial private equity plan involving global soccer governing body FIFA.
FIFA said in July it planned to create a new commercial subsidiary, valued at about $20 billion, to hold the organization’s World Cup and other event-related businesses and sell minority stakes to outside investors.
Thrive Eternal was expected to lead a group of investors. The proposed transaction could have raised more than $4 billion for FIFA, with the proceeds intended in part to fund soccer development programs around the world.
The proposal sparked an immediate backlash from European soccer officials and others who objected to private investors taking an ownership stake in the commercial operations of the world’s most popular sport and threatened to become a test of FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s leadership.
FIFA later backed away from the plan after the criticism, though it said it would continue consulting on the proposed structure. Kushner’s brother, Jared, is U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. Jared Kushner was not involved in the proposed deal.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery and Echo Wang in New York and Lisa Richwine and Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Alison Williams, Christian Radnedge and Pritha Sarkar)
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