A dispute has emerged within the Buss family regarding the sale of their stake in the Los Angeles Lakers. Jeanie Buss, the team’s governor, has formally opposed a transaction that would transfer the family’s ownership interest, contradicting an earlier report indicating the siblings had agreed to sell to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and Thrive Capital founder Joshua Kushner.
Through her attorney Adam Streisand, Jeanie Buss asserted that she maintains controlling shareholder status of the Lakers under a 2017 court order and that no sale can proceed without her consent. According to Streisand’s letter to law firms representing her siblings Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse, any vote approving a sale would be void. He further argued that the JAB Trust, which holds 17.8 percent ownership in the team, requires approval from its three co-trustees—Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss—for any transaction. The attorney warned that efforts to bypass this requirement would constitute breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and contempt of court.
In contrast, Jeanie Buss’s five siblings released a statement indicating they had collectively decided to sell the family’s remaining stake and remain committed to that decision. They emphasized their concern for the Lakers’ future, the team’s supporters and the Los Angeles community while pledging to proceed thoughtfully through appropriate processes.
The proposed transaction would have combined the Buss family’s ownership with a separate deal in which Iger and Kushner agreed to purchase Mark Walter’s controlling interest in the team. That arrangement would have valued the franchise at $12.5 billion and resulted in the buyers holding approximately 83 percent ownership. Jeanie Buss’s resistance to the sale stems partly from the value of the family’s stake and her desire to retain her position as team governor, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI