Mark Walter agreed on Wednesday to sell the Los Angeles Lakers to Thrive Capital founder Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger in a deal valuing the franchise at $12.5 billion, roughly 14 months after Walter purchased control from the Buss family at a then-record $10 billion valuation. Hours after the agreement became public, Bloomberg reported that Walter's holding company, TWG Global, was seeking fresh capital to reduce loans held by its insurance companies, transactions that federal authorities are reportedly already scrutinizing.
Mark Walter's firm reportedly seeking capital to address insurer loans under federal scrutiny as Lakers sale is agreed
Mark Walter agreed on Wednesday to sell the Los Angeles Lakers to Thrive Capital founder Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger in a deal valuing the franchise at $12.5 billion, roughly 14 months after Walter purchased control from the Buss family at a then-record $10 billion valuation. Hours after the agreement became public, Bloomberg reported that Walter's holding company, TWG Global, was seeking fresh capital to reduce loans held by its insurance companies, transactions that federal authorities are reportedly already scrutinizing.
The Lakers sale has not been finalized and still requires approval from the NBA's board of governors.
According to Bloomberg, TWG Global has approached several investment firms, including Point72 Asset Management, led by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, about potential deals to raise cash. The effort to address concerns surrounding the loans has reportedly accelerated in recent days.
The record-setting Lakers sale is expected to advance Walter's broader effort to address the loan situation, although it remains unclear, according to the report, whether proceeds from the transaction will be used directly to repay the loans.
- No response or comment from Mark Walter or TWG Global is included in the source.
- No response from the Department of Justice is included in the source.
- The specific nature or legal basis of the federal scrutiny is not described.
- The total size of the loans held by TWG's insurance companies is not stated.
- It is not established whether Point72 or other approached firms have agreed to any deal.
- The source text supplied appears truncated; some material may be missing.
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