Update: The Buss family’s intent to sell their remaining Lakers stake to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner following last week’s historic $12.5 billion acquisition hit a speed bump shortly after the news broke Monday.
Jeanie Buss, the current Lakers governor who has an agreement to serve through 2030, is calling on the votes of her siblings Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse to sell to Iger and Kushner to be voided on the grounds that Jeanie is controlling stakeholder.
“Shams Charania of ESPN falsely reported that the six Buss siblings voted to sell the 17.8% ownership stake in the Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, and that my client, Jeanie Buss, is ‘out’ as controlling owner,” Jeanie’s attorney Adam F. Streisand wrote to the legal teams of her respective siblings Monday. “This is just the latest instance of a years-long pattern whereby Joey and Jesse Buss leak false, defamatory and pernicious ‘information’ to Mr. Charania for the malicious purpose of doing harm to the Los Angeles Lakers so long as Dr. Buss’ chosen successor, Jeanie Buss, carries out her father’s wishes.”
“No sale of the JAB Trust’s 17.8% ownership interest in the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. can be effectuated without approval by the current co-trustees, i.e., Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss,” the letter continued. “On behalf of Jeanie Buss, I demand that your clients make clear publicly that Jeanie Buss is the Controlling Owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and that your clients shall take no action on this supposed ‘vote’ to sell the 17.8% stake.”
Read the letter in full here.
CNBC first reported Jeanie’s push back on her siblings’ intention to sell.
Original story: The Buss family is selling its remaining 17.8% stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, ending the family’s nearly five-decade ownership of the NBA franchise, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday. The Buss Family Trust received the four votes among six siblings needed to exercise a tag-along provision tied to Mark Walter’s sale of his controlling stake. The additional shares would bring Iger and Kushner’s ownership to roughly 83% and mean Jeanie Buss will no longer serve as Lakers governor once the transaction is completed.
“We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction,” the family said in a statement to ESPN. “We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.”
The decision cuts short an arrangement that would have kept Jeanie Buss as governor of the Lakers through 2030. She has held the position since 2013, following the death of her father, Jerry Buss, who purchased the franchise in 1979. NBA guidelines require a controlling owner or governor to own at least 15% of a franchise.
The Buss family sold control of the Lakers to Walter last year in a deal that valued the team at $10 billion, then a record for a U.S. professional sports franchise. Less than a year later, Walter agreed to sell his controlling stake to Iger and Kushner at a $12.5 billion valuation.
As TheWrap previously reported, Iger and Kushner had initially been pursuing a potential NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas before pivoting to the Lakers. The pair hired bankers through Thrive Eternal, the sports investment arm of Kushner’s Thrive Capital, in June to explore an expansion bid before Iger learned Walter was willing to sell.
Iger, who stepped down as Disney CEO earlier this year, serves as a senior adviser to Thrive Capital. He previously worked as a venture partner at the firm between his two stints leading Disney.
The Lakers transaction still requires approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors, whose next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 15 and 16 in New York. Kushner must also sell his minority stake in the Miami Heat before the deal can receive league approval.
