Former Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner have agreed to buy the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal valuing the NBA franchise at over $12 billion. The agreement appears to mark the start of a major new chapter for Iger mere months after he departed from Disney for a second time.
Iger’s first tenure as Disney CEO lasted roughly 15 years, beginning in 2005 and ending when he stepped down in February 2020. He remained with the company as Executive Chairman until December 2021 before leaving entirely, only to return as Disney CEO in November 2022 after Bob Chapek stepped down. His second tenure ended on March 18, 2026, when Josh D’Amaro succeeded him as CEO, with Iger retaining his Disney seat through the end of the year.
Bob Iger and Josh Kushner Reportedly Agree to Buy LA Lakers for $12.5 Billion
Mark Walter Stands To Make a $2.5 Billion Profit After Less Than a Year of Ownership
The still-active member of Disney’s board is now said to be buying the Los Angeles Lakers, according to an August 12 report by ESPN citing multiple sources familiar with the plan. Iger and Kushner are said to have agreed to acquire the franchise from current owner Mark Walter at a $12.5 billion valuation, which would make it the most valuable sale of a professional sports team in U.S. history. The existing record is held by Walter himself, who acquired the Lakers for $10 billion just last year. The historic transaction still cannot be completed without formal approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors. It has been less than a year since the league’s top authority approved Walter’s acquisition of the Lakers in late October 2025, shortly after the start of the 2025–26 NBA regular season.
Bob Iger and Josh Kushner Previously Eyed a Las Vegas NBA Team
The agreement follows an earlier attempt by Iger and Kushner to enter the NBA through expansion rather than acquisition. Reports in late June 2026 said that the pair had hired investment bankers and discussed making a bid for a majority stake in a prospective Las Vegas franchise, partly through Kushner’s Thrive Eternal investment vehicle. The NBA had only formally begun exploring expansion into Las Vegas and Seattle in March, making the Lakers an unexpected alternative route into team ownership for the former Disney CEO.
Iger and Kushner already had an established business relationship before their NBA ownership plans emerged. Iger rejoined Kushner’s Thrive Capital as an advisor in April 2026 after briefly serving as a venture partner at the firm in 2022, a stint cut short by his return to Disney. He also entered the Lakers negotiations with an existing foothold in professional sports through his investment in NWSL club Angel City FC.
Another Kushner Just Closed a $55 Billion Gaming Deal
The Lakers agreement has an unusual link to one of gaming’s largest acquisitions. Josh Kushner’s brother Jared founded Affinity Partners, which joined Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Silver Lake in the consortium whose $55 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts closed on August 4, 2026. The deal took EA private and became the single largest buyout funded by private equity in history. While the transactions are otherwise unrelated, they place the Kushner brothers at the center of some of 2026’s most high-profile M&A activity.
