Billionaire Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger buy the Los Angeles Lakers in a record-breaking deal worth $12.5 billion deal

Billionaire investor Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger have reached an agreement to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5 billion, a record price for a U.S. sports franchise, according to several reports.

Kushner and Iger acquired a majority stake in the Lakers from Mark Walter, who last year bought a majority stake in the team from the Buss family for $10,000 million, ESPN first reported, citing several sources.

Lakers 12.5 B valuation

A deal valuing the Lakers at $12.5 billion sets the record for the highest price ever paid for a U.S. sports franchise, surpassing Walter’s purchase last year and the $9.6 billion deal to sell the Seattle Seahawks to billionaire Vinod Khosla earlier this year.

Both told Forbes that they feel “deeply honored by the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers,” and Walter told ESPN that his brief ownership was an “extraordinary investment.”

Forbes ranked the Lakers as the second-most valuable franchise in the NBA last year, at $10 billion, just behind the Golden State Warriors ($11 billion) and ahead of the New York Knicks ($9.75 billion) and the Los Angeles Clippers ($7.5 billion).