June 18 (UPI) -- The Buss family is finalizing an agreement to sell majority ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers, valued at $10 billion, the highest in pro sports in the United States, to billionaire Mark Walter.
Walter, 65, already has a 26% interest in the Lakers, and owns the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team and the WNBA Los Angeles Sparks.
The Buss family, which has owned the franchise for 45 years, will keep a minority share of 15% for a period of time, a source told ESPN. This is the longest franchise ownership by a family with the Indiana Pacers second when Herb Simon bought them in 1983.
The Crypto.com Arena, where the Lakers play and is owned by AEG, is not included in the deal. CNBC's most recent Official NBA Team Valuations ranked the Lakers as third in the league in terms of value at $7 billion behind the Golden State Warriors at $9.4 billion and the New York Knicks at $7.5b billion.
Jeanie Buss will remain the franchise's governor and continue to run the team for "at least a number of years," ESPN reported.
The Buss family trust, which includes all six Buss brothers and sisters, owned 66% of the team. Walter's new ownership wasn't reported.
Walter purchased Phil Anschutz's 26% share of the Lakers in 2021. Walter then received a right of first refusal on the majority share of the team. Walter is worth $6.1 billion according to Forbes.
"Mark Walter is entering into an agreement to acquire additional interests in the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, which he has been a stakeholder since 2021," a representative for Walter said in a statement to CNBC.
The Lakers said in a statement to KCBS-TV: "We can confirm: Mark Walter is entering into an agreement to acquire additional interests in the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, of which he has been a stakeholder since 2021."
The NBA Board of Governors needs to approve the sale.
Walter, who is CEO and chairman of diversified holding company TWG Global, also has interests in the Billie Jean Cup, Cadillac Formula 1 team and the Professional Women's Hockey League.
Walter is CEO of the financial services firm Guggenheim Partners, which is estimated to have more than $325 billion in assets.
Former Lakers Star Magic Johnson is among Guggenheim's investors.
In 1979, Jerry Buss, purchased the franchise from Jack Kent Cooke in a $67.5 million transaction that also included the Los Angeles Kings and the Forum.
When Jerry Buss died in 2013, Jeanie has served as the Lakers' governor. Jerry Buss' son Jim left in 2017 after serving as vice president of basketball operations.
Johnson has endorsed the ownership change and noted Lakers fans should be "ecstatic" in a post on X.
"Mark Walter is the best choice and will be the best caretaker of the Laker brand," Johnson posted on X. "The proof is in the pudding on what he's been able to accomplish with the LA Dodgers. Mark has been nothing short of a winner notching 2 World Series and 11 NL West divisional titles in the last 12 years!"
Johnson has been part of five the Lakers' 11 NBA championships. Since 1980, that's the most by any NBA team during that span.
The Lakers' record is 2,236-1,467 under Buss ownership.
The Lakers finished the 2025 season as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with a 50-32 record, losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round.
Other prominent players have include Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. This season, the Lakers acquired superstar guard Luka Doncic in a surprising trade with the Dallas Mavericks.
The Dodgers also have made many big-dollar deals, including signing Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani to a record-breaking $700 million contract in 2023.
Mark Cuban sold a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks for $3.5 billion in 2023, and Wyc Grousbeck sold the Boston Celtics for $6.1 billion about three months ago.
The NBA Draft takes place on June 25 and 26, and the free agency signing window begins at 9 a.m. on July 6.