Ten billion dollars! If the Lakers bid is successfully passed, it will set a sports club acquisition record

According to ESPN reporter Ramona Shelburne, Mark Walter plans to submit a bid to acquire the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Advisory Finance Committee on Friday (October 31) local time. If passed successfully, he is expected to become the team's new controlling owner by the end of this month.

If this deal is completed, the Lakers' valuation of US$10 billion will set a new record for professional sports club transactions, far exceeding the record set by Josh Harris's US$6.05 billion acquisition of the Washington Commanders in 2023, and also higher than Bill Chisholm's US$6.1 billion acquisition of the Boston Celtics in July this year.

Walter is very familiar with record-setting acquisitions. He caused a sensation when he purchased the Dodgers for $2.15 billion in 2012, and now the deal has proven to be far-sighted - the team is currently valued at between $6.8 billion (Forbes) and $7.73 billion (Sportico).

The Buss family will retain a minority stake of more than 15%, which means that for the foreseeable future, Lakers controlling shareholder Jenny Buss will continue to be in charge of the team.