Chelsea co-owner Boehly part of $10bn NBA deal for LA Lakers
Todd Boehly is part of the $10bn deal to buy the LA Lakers alongside Chelsea co-owner Mark Walter.
Walter had agreed to purchase a majority stake in the NBA side earlier this year in a deal that would value the franchise at $10bn.
But Front Office Sports reports that Chelsea consortium frontman Boehly is part of the deal which will see 85 per cent of the Los Angeles basketball club transferred to new ownership from the stewardship of the Buss family.
Boehly had been part of a group that purchased 27 per cent of the NBA team in 2021 but his involvement in this year’s acquisition was previously unknown.
Walter is part of the consortium, alongside Boehly, who purchased Premier League club Chelsea in 2022, while he co-owns the LA Dodgers baseball franchise with the American.
Boehly in for Lakers
Jeanie Buss will retain a minority stake in the 17-time NBA Championship winners worth 15 per cent, but the deal brings to an end nearly five decades of majority ownership for the family.
The Lakers roster includes the likes of Luka Doncic and LeBron James but lost 108-122 last night against the Portland Trail Blazers at their Crypto.com Arena home.
Walter is also the chief of TWG Global, who are putting their Cadillac team into Formula 1 next season, while his sporting portfolio includes LA Sparks and RC Strasbourg, as well as Chelsea, the Dodgers and Lakers.
“Mark Walter is entering into an agreement to acquire additional interests in the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers, of which he has been a stakeholder since 2021,” a spokesperson for Walter said back in June.
The LA Lakers sit 8th in the 15-team NBA Western Conference with two wins from their four matches.
They’ve beaten the Timberwolves and Kings but have suffered defeats against the Trail Blazers and Kings.