Philip Anschutz agrees to sell Lakers shares after NBA playoffs elimination

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Dodgers have shared the marquee in the city’s sports landscape for a long time. They’ll now share even more. According to The New York Times on Saturday, two members of the Dodgers ownership group, chairman Mark Walter and co-owner Todd Boehly, are buying the Lakers’ largest minority ownership position from AEG founder Phillip Anschutz.

Lakers owner Walter and Boehly will have first refusal if Jeanie Buss decides to sell the team. With the sale still pending, the Lakers declined to comment. Before the deal can be made public, the sale must be approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors, which consists of the league’s other owners. The Lakers were valued at USD 5 billion during the transaction, according to Sportico, which broke the storey first.

Lakers owner Philip Anschutz is selling his interest in the Los Angeles Lakers. The team’s contract with and Anschutz has been extended through 2041, extending its lease at Staples Center. When the Clippers move to their own privately financed building in Inglewood in 2024, Staples Center will lose one lessee.

Dodgers owner Phil Anschutz has been rumored to be looking for other sports property in Los Angeles. Walter and Boehly were considered strong buyers for when it was offered for sale in 2012, but decided not to sell. Since purchasing the Dodgers for USD 2 billion from Frank McCourt, the franchise has made eight postseason appearances and three World Series appearances, winning the title in 2020 for first time since 1988.

He chairs Guggenheim Partners, a financial investment firm with over $315 billion in “assets under management,” in addition to his work with the Dodgers. Walter’s net worth is estimated to be $4.9 billion by Forbes. Boehly, who is also an investment manager, controls a lot of properties, including the band’s early publication rights. The Sparks are owned by a number of people, including Walter and Boehly.

The Dodgers and the Lakers aren’t strangers, having already been intertwined, whether through shared local TV distribution deals via Spectrum Sports or Magic Johnson’s involvement with the two franchises. In an interview with The Times in 2012, Boehly said the investment in sports had as much to do with broadcasting rights as anything else.