Mark Walter Sells Lakers Stake for $12.5 Billion as Probe Targets Up to $21 Billion in Loans
Updated
Updated · Sports Illustrated · Aug 26
Mark Walter Sells Lakers Stake for $12.5 Billion as Probe Targets Up to $21 Billion in Loans
3 articles · Updated · Sports Illustrated · Aug 26
Summary
$12.5 billion is the price Mark Walter agreed on Aug. 12 to sell his controlling Lakers stake, a move tied to a liquidity squeeze as Manhattan prosecutors and the SEC investigate his business empire.
Up to $21 billion in loans from Walter-controlled insurers was reclassified as related-party lending after subpoenas, versus roughly $1 billion initially disclosed; Fitch said that equals nearly 40% of the insurers' investment portfolios.
The Dodgers are not accused of wrongdoing, but Walter's finances intersect deeply with the club: about $1.2 billion of its 2012 $2.15 billion purchase reportedly came from his insurers, and insurer-linked entities hold $1.49 billion of SportsNet LA parent debt.
That overlap could reverberate beyond Los Angeles as MLB heads toward a Dec. 1 CBA expiration, complicating owners' push for a salary cap built partly around the Dodgers' spending power.