Billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong does not intend to sell his minority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers amid a high-profile sale of the franchise.
Soon-Shiong’s family attorney, Chuck “Tiger” Kenworthy, said in a statement to ESPN on Thursday his client is “absolutely not selling” his 4% stake in the Lakers following the sale to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner.
Mark Walter sold his majority stake to Iger and Kushner in a transaction that valued the Lakers at $12.5 billion. Since then, the Buss family has also moved to sell its remaining 17.8%, though Jeanie Buss is attempting to block her five siblings from doing so.
“Bob Iger and Josh Kushner are good friends, and we will be joining them as supportive, active and engaged partners once they close the transaction with Mr. Walter,” Kenworthy told ESPN. “We are extremely excited about the Lakers’ future and look forward to many more championship years.”
Soon-Shiong, 74, is a medical doctor who invented a drug that treats lung cancer, breast cancer and pancreatic cancer. He founded a network of startups in the healthcare and artificial intelligence spaces and also purchased the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune in 2018.
Soon-Shiong purchased his 4% stake in the Lakers from franchise icon Magic Johnson in 2010.
His decision comes against the backdrop of the Buss family’s infighting over the future of their Lakers stake. Jeanie Buss spearheaded the sale of the franchise to Walter last year on a U.S. sports-record $10 billion valuation. Part of the agreement was that Jeanie Buss would remain governor of the franchise through 2030.
Her siblings came out this week with their intention of selling the Buss Family Trust’s remaining share. Doing so would mean Jeanie Buss could no longer serve as governor, as there is a 15% ownership requirement to be a controlling owner or governor of an NBA team.
Jeanie Buss’ lawyer Adam Streisand wrote in a letter to the siblings that a court ruled in 2017 that any sale of the Lakers required approval from the co-trustees, Jeanie Buss among them.
“Pursuant to the JAB Trust and the attached Court Order,” Streisand wrote, “the co-trustees are bound to vote the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. shares to ensure that the minimum 15% ownership requirement is maintained in order to ensure that Jeanie Buss may remain Controlling Owner.
“Any attempt by the co-trustees to do otherwise, and any attempt to aid or abet the co-trustees as such, would constitute a breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and be in contempt of court.”
