Jeanie Buss, the controlling shareholder and chief executive of the Los Angeles Lakers, is opposing the sale of her family's remaining 17.8 percent stake in the franchise to former Disney chief executive Bob Iger and venture capital investor Josh Kushner.
The dispute follows an agreement reached last week by Iger and Kushner to buy a majority stake in the basketball team from Mark Walter for a record 12.5 billion US dollars.
In a letter obtained by CNN, Buss's attorney Adam Streisand demanded that the buyers publicly clarify that Buss remains the controlling shareholder of the team. He also requested that they take no action based on an alleged vote by her family members to sell the remaining holding.
Legal Demands and Family Dispute
Streisand said ESPN had falsely reported the sale of the minority stake. He stated that the report represented the latest episode in a years-long pattern in which Joey Buss and Jesse Buss leaked false, defamatory, and damaging information.
ESPN had reported that at least five of the six Buss siblings agreed to sell the holding. The Buss Family Trust includes siblings Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey, Jesse, and Jeanie.
Streisand told CNN that if the siblings attempted to push the transaction forward, he would ask a court to hold them in contempt and seek injunctive relief. He cited a 2017 court ruling establishing that Buss remains the controlling shareholder, meaning any sale of the family's holding requires her authorization, making any sibling vote null and void from the start.
The Buss Family Statement
In a statement provided to ESPN, the Buss family asserted that they had decided as a family to sell the remaining shares of the Buss Family Trust to Iger's group as part of the ongoing transaction. They added that they love the Lakers and their fans, but felt the time had come to take the opportunity to move forward and exit smoothly while they still could.
A person familiar with the matter told CNN that Buss does not want to sell the family stake at this time, preferring to preserve its value and maintain her position as governor. CNBC had previously reported her intention to keep the holding.
If the minority sale were completed, Buss would lose her position as governor, the official title assigned to an NBA team's controlling shareholder, a role she has held since 2013.
Ownership Structure and NBA Approval
The overall majority sale to Iger and Kushner remains subject to approval by the NBA Board of Governors. CNN reported that Thrive Capital, Kushner's venture capital firm, was contacted for comment regarding the dispute.
A source told CNN that if the main transaction is approved, Kushner, who is the brother of Jared Kushner and son-in-law of former President Donald Trump, would become the controlling shareholder. Iger, the former chief executive of The Walt Disney Company, would hold a key leadership role in the organization.
The Los Angeles Lakers, based in Los Angeles, California, compete in the National Basketball Association. The team is one of the most successful franchises in professional basketball history, holding 17 NBA titles, with their most recent championship coming in the 2019/20 season.
