Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cWe have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction,\u201d the family said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeanie, however, has made it clear she has not agreed to go along with the family\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n
Her attorney Adam Streisand said in a letter obtained by CNBC that Jeanie had not agreed to sell her stake and argued any vote attempting to force the transaction through \u201cwould be and is void\u201d.<\/p>\n
It raises the prospect of an extraordinary battle between Jeanie and her siblings over the final piece of the Lakers still owned by the Buss family.<\/p>\n
ESPN reported four of the six members of the Buss Family Trust \u2013 comprising Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse \u2013 approved the execution of the sale.<\/p>\n
NBA reporter Yaron Weitzman also reported that Jeanie\u2019s five siblings sent signatures stating they wanted the family to sell its shares, potentially triggering a \u201ctag-along\u201d clause connected to the wider transaction.<\/p>\n
Jeanie\u2019s opposition could have significant ramifications beyond the ownership battle.<\/p>\n
Selling the family\u2019s remaining 17.8 per cent stake would also put her future as Lakers governor in serious doubt.<\/p>\n
NBA rules require controlling owners or governors to own at least 15 per cent of a franchise, meaning Jeanie would no longer meet that threshold if the Buss family completely sells out.<\/p>\n
Iger and Kushner had reportedly planned to honour Mark Walter\u2019s previous commitment allowing Jeanie to remain governor through 2030 despite the change in majority ownership.<\/p>\n
Whether that arrangement can survive the latest developments is now unclear.<\/p>\n
The Buss family originally relinquished majority control of the Lakers in 2025 when it sold its controlling stake to Walter for $10 billion, while retaining a 17.8 per cent minority interest.<\/p>\n
Walter\u2019s purchase was the largest sale in professional sports history at the time, but that mark has already been eclipsed by his agreement to sell control of the Lakers to Iger and Kushner for $12.5 billion.<\/p>\n
Should the Buss family\u2019s remaining stake also be acquired, the new ownership group would control approximately 83 per cent of one of world sport\u2019s most valuable franchises.<\/p>\n
The transaction still requires approval from the NBA Board of Governors, while Kushner will also reportedly need to divest his minority ownership interest in the Miami Heat before taking over the Lakers.<\/p>\n
If the sale of the remaining Buss shares proceeds, it will officially bring an end to the family\u2019s ownership connection with the Lakers, which stretches back to Jerry Buss\u2019 purchase of the franchise in 1979.<\/p>\n
But while the family says it wants to \u201cexit gracefully\u201d, Jeanie Buss is making it clear she isn\u2019t ready to surrender the final piece of the Lakers without a fight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Buss family says it is ready to walk away from the Los Angeles Lakers after 47 years. Jeanie Buss, however, isn\u2019t going quietly. The Buss Family Trust has moved to sell its remaining 17.8 per cent stake in the Lakers to the incoming ownership group led by Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, which would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":258357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[156],"class_list":{"0":"post-258356","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}