Jeanie Buss challenges proposed sale of family’s remaining Lakers stake
Jeanie Buss is seeking to stop her siblings’ proposed sale of the Buss family trust’s remaining Lakers shares, arguing the deal could undermine her controlling-owner status.
In short
- Jeanie Buss is seeking to stop her siblings’ proposed sale of the Buss family trust’s remaining Lakers shares, arguing the deal could undermine her controlling-owner status.
Jeanie Buss is challenging a proposed sale of the Buss family trust’s remaining stake in the Los Angeles Lakers, setting up a legal dispute with her siblings over control of the NBA franchise.
The family said on Monday, August 17, that it intended to sell its remaining 17.8 percent holding to an investor group led by Bob Iger and Josh Kushner. Reports from The Guardian and Variety, citing CNBC and ESPN, said a lawyer for Jeanie Buss then moved to halt the transaction on legal grounds.
Her lawyer, Adam Streisand, argued that a 2017 court order requires the trust’s co-trustees to preserve the minimum ownership needed for Buss to remain the Lakers’ controlling owner. NBA rules require a controlling owner or governor to hold at least 15 percent of a team, according to The Guardian.
Buss has served as the Lakers’ governor since 2013. An earlier agreement tied to the franchise’s sale to Mark Walter provided for her to remain governor through 2030. The latest proposed transaction has not received NBA approval.
The NBA Board of Governors is scheduled to meet in New York on September 15. Until the legal dispute and league review are resolved, the ownership transfer remains pending.
