The Buss family is selling their remaining ownership shares in the Lakers to new majority co-owners Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, who have an agreement with Mark Walter to buy the franchise for a historic valuation of $12.5 billion.
When Walter purchased the majority ownership of the Lakers from the Buss family last year at a valuation of $10 billion, the league announced that Buss would remain the team’s Governor for a period of at least five years.
Iger told the California Post last week he and Kushner intended to honor the agreement made between Walter and Buss.
The Buss family trust, which includes six of Jerry Buss’ children – Jeanie, Johnny, Jim, Janie, Joey and Jesse – needed a majority vote (four out of six) to allow the trustees to sell their shares.
Now, the trustees will execute the sale.
ESPN reported Jeanie didn’t vote to sell the family’s ownership stake in the Lakers, while the other five siblings in the trust did.
So, what does the Buss family’s decision mean for Jeanie?
Once the sale is official, she will no longer be able to be the Lakers Governor. She’s been the franchise’s Governor after her father died in February 2013.
The NBA requires that all Governors have an ownership stake of at least 15% of the franchise to be in the role.
The Buss family’s remaining shares in the Lakers was close to 18% of the franchise.
An NBA franchise’s Governor is the official representative and voting member on the league’s Board of Governors.
“We have enormous respect and appreciation for Jeanie, her father and what they’ve contributed to this franchise,” Iger told the Post. “And we have every intention to honor the agreement that was made between Mark and Jeanie. If things change, they’ll change, but we’re going into this with enormous respect and appreciation for who she is and what she represents in the organization.”
Things changed.
