The shocking development surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers’ ownership change truly happened in the blink of an eye.
Per Sam Amick, Dan Woike, and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, negotiations began last Friday and quickly came together over the weekend, leading to Wednesday’s stunning official announcement.
"According to one source with knowledge of the deal who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the agreement, Josh Kushner reached out to Mark Walter on Friday and the deal quickly came together over the weekend," the report noted.
"The sale was a coup for Walter as an investor, with the Lakers’ valuation quickly turning from $10 billion to $12.5 billion in just 14 months."
Josh Kushner, Bob Iger Lakers ownership bid "too good to pass up" for Mark Walter
Mark Walter became the Los Angeles Lakers’ owner in June last year after acquiring the franchise from the Buss family for $10 billion. He seized full control of the team after the Buss family had run the Lakers for more than four decades.
Although his sudden decision to sell the NBA's most historic team came as a major stunner throughout the sports world, Walter was reportedly compelled to accept Josh Kushner and Bob Iger's eye-popping offer, wherein he profitably earned $2.5 billion.
"Walter, per the source, wasn’t necessarily looking to sell — the offer from Kushner and Bob Iger was just too good to pass up," the report further added.
Mark Walter sells Lakers amid loan, financial issues of company
Amid these key new details, many still view Mark Walter's decision to sell the Los Angeles Lakers as a desperate move to gain immediate funds and deal with his legal financial issues.
Walter's insurance company, TWG Global, is under massive scrutiny for illegally using $17 billion of policyholders' money to fund his personal business empire. As such, selling the Lakers for a record $12.5 billion is widely speculated to have provided him a perfect route to settle his flagged insurance loans and control the federal investigation.
In three days, Walter did not think twice about surrendering the Lakers, as he turned an instant profit by selling the franchise to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger.