Bob Iger and Josh Kushner Buy Los Angeles Lakers for Record $12.5B

Josh Kushner and former Disney chief executive Bob Iger have agreed to buy the Los Angeles Lakers at a $12.5 billion valuation, a record for a United States sports franchise . The pair approached Mark Walter with the offer on Sunday and the deal came together within days. The purchase is pending Thrive's due diligence and NBA approval, so it is agreed rather than closed.

The price is the story. Walter acquired his controlling interest from the Buss family last year at a then-record valuation of roughly $10 billion. A $12.5 billion agreement roughly a year later marks a 25% step up on an asset that did not change on the court, which is a statement about franchise scarcity value rather than about the Lakers' basketball operations.

Iger's involvement drew attention partly because he had previously said rooting for the Lakers was not in his DNA, and partly because of the obvious question of whether Disney's live-entertainment playbook transfers to a sports franchise.

The relevant market read is on sports media rights. NBA franchise valuations are underwritten primarily by national and local media contracts, and a record private-market print at $12.5 billion says sophisticated buyers, including Kushner's Thrive, are marking live sports rights higher than the public streaming market currently does. That is a datapoint for the media names that hold or bid on those packages, including DIS, rather than a direct earnings event for any of them.

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