Bob Iger, Joshua Kushner buy Los Angeles Lakers at $12.5 billion valuation

Former Disney CEO Bob Iger and Thrive Capital founder Joshua Kushner have agreed to acquire Mark Walter's stake in the Los Angeles Lakers, a source told CNBC. The deal values the franchise at more than $12.5 billion, placing it among the highest sports-team valuations on record and eclipsing several recent marquee sales in US professional sports.

Walter, chief executive of Guggenheim Partners, took majority control of the Lakers in 2021; the new deal reshapes the club's ownership structure as it navigates the post-LeBron James era. The transaction arrives amid a broader run-up in NBA franchise valuations over the past several years, fuelled by lucrative national media-rights contracts and surging global interest in the league.

The purchase underscores continued appetite among prominent media and finance figures for major sports franchises, following a string of similarly outsized sales across the NFL and NBA in recent seasons. The transaction still requires review and approval from the NBA's Board of Governors, a process that typically takes several months, before it can formally close.