Mark Walter, chairman and CEO of TWG Global, a diversified holding company spanning the worlds of financial services, insurance, AI, and related technologies, has reached an agreement with the Buss Family Trust to acquire a majority stake in the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers.
Jeanie Buss will remain governor of the franchise and will continue to oversee all team operations for the foreseeable future.
“The Buss family is deeply honored to have looked after this incredible organization for almost half a century,” said Buss. “From the day our father purchased the Lakers, we have been determined to deliver what the City of Los Angeles deserves and demands: a team that is committed to winning — relentlessly — and to doing so with passion and with style.”
Buss continued, “I have gotten to know Mark very well over time and have been delighted to learn how he shares those same values. For the last four years, Mark has been an excellent partner to us, and we are thrilled to keep working with him to continue the Lakers’ extraordinary legacy.”
Walter has been a minority owner of the Lakers since 2021. He leads TWG Global with Co-Chairman Thomas Tull. He has ownership interests in several professional sports teams and organizations, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, the Billie Jean King Cup, the new Cadillac Formula 1 Team, and the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL).
“The Lakers have long been one of the most iconic franchises in sports,” said Walter. “Since Dr. Jerry Buss first purchased the team in 1979, they have truly set the standard for basketball in one era after another, which is why you can find people anywhere in the world wearing Lakers shirts and jerseys.
“I admire what he, Jeanie and the Buss family have built, and I know how much this special organization matters to Southern Californians and sports fans everywhere. I also have tremendous respect for Jeanie’s continued commitment to maintaining the Lakers’ long-term vision and elite status, and I’m excited to work with her on the next era,” continued Walter.
In the 46 years the Buss family has owned the Lakers, the team has won 11 NBA Championships, far more than any other NBA team over that span. The team’s rosters during this time have featured Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James, and Luka Doncic, in addition to noted coaches and executives Pat Riley, Phil Jackson, Jerry West, and Bill Sharman.
The Lakers opened the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, CA, in 2017. In 2020, seven years after Dr. Jerry Buss’s death, Jeanie Buss became the first female controlling owner to lead a team to an NBA Championship.
The Lakers expect to close on the sale of the majority stake in the organization in the third or fourth quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, including obtaining NBA approval.
Guggenheim Securities is serving as the financial advisor to Walter, with Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP acting as the legal advisor. ArentFox Schiff LLP is serving as the legal advisor to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Buss family.
Through the Walter Family Foundation, Walter champions the protection of wildlife and the preservation of natural habitats worldwide. He serves as a trustee of Creighton University, Northwestern University, the Explorers Club, the Field Museum, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.
Images courtesy LA Lakers, Mark Walter
