Former Disney chief Bob Iger and investor Josh Kushner are buying the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers for a record-setting $12.5 billion, just 14 months after the team sold for $10 billion.
Valuations for professional sports franchises have soared to eye-popping levels, as billionaires search for a dwindling number of trophy assets: Last month, the estate of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sold the Seattle Seahawks to venture capitalist Vinod Khosla for nearly $10 billion. And the co-founder of Chinese tech company Xiaomi bought a 1% stake in the Miami Dolphins in a deal that valued the team at $12.5 billion, more than a decade after Time Warner’s former CEO bought it for $1 billion.