Why have private equity firms taken an interest in buying professional sports teams?

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Set us as preferred One of Los Angeles’ celebrated professional sports franchises was owned by one local family for more than 45 years.Catering to Hollywood royalty and leaning into its “Showtime” charm, the Lakers became synonymous with the star-studded city.

Two quick transactions later, the team now belongs to a New York-based venture capital titan who made his billions in technology and software.Joshua Kushner, founder of venture capital firm Thrive Capital, and former Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger agreed to buy a majority stake in the Lakers last week.The Buss family’s grip on the NBA’s glamor franchise loosened in 2025 when they relinquished their majority share to Mark Walter.

His businesses are under federal investigation for undisclosed insurance loans and Walter flipped the team after just 14 months.In 1979, Jerry Buss bought the Lakers, the Forum and the Los Angeles Kings for $67.5 million.

Now the Lakers alone are worth $12.5 billion.“It used to be, ‘Hey, I’m in this for the love of the game,’” said Ross Williams, a private-equity attorney and partner at law firm Reed Smith.“Like I measure the success of my investment based on whether we win championships.

… And now it’s becoming apparent that these are really, really good financial investments.”The booming business of sports has attracted a flood of private-equity investment, and even the most notable franchises require the influx of cash to keep up in the arms race.As of May, more than 74 North American professional teams had some level of private-equity involvement, according to the CFA Institute, an organization providing finance education to investment professionals.Private-equity-backed consolidators have been responsible for 61% of all mergers and acquisition transactions in the sports industry since 2019, according to Oakl...