00:00Always good to see my pal Arash Markazi from the Sporting Tribune, the founder and CEO.
00:05Also, you can follow him on Axe at Arash Markazi, A-R-A-S-H-M-A-R-K-A-Z-I.
00:13For those that don't know Arash, he's been on the show forever,
00:16contributing from Los Angeles, everything that goes on on the West side.
00:21So let's start with this, Arash. Good to see you.
00:24But before Walter bought the Dodgers, he already owned a piece of the Dodgers.
00:33Before it was the, you know, bus was the majority at 66%.
00:37Can you break down the other pieces and owners of the, you know, the Lakers before this Dodger owner bought them?
00:48And then now how is it staked out?
00:50So four years ago, Mark Walter and his group bought 27%.
00:55That percentage came from AEG, as you well know, Scott.
00:59They own Crypto.com Arena, the Kings, the Galaxy, that whole thing.
01:05With that 27% came first right of refusal if the bus family did want to sell the team.
01:11We're kind of getting into a point here where the regional sports network model is dead.
01:17So basically, Mark Walter said, hey, listen, we'd like to buy the majority of the team.
01:23They went to the bus family.
01:25To your point, they owned 66%.
01:27They bought 49% of the team from them at a $10 billion valuation.
01:35The other 7%, 4.5%, is for Patrick Soon-Shiong, who owns the Los Angeles Times.
01:43And Ted Roski, he owns 2.5%.
01:46But basically, Mark Walters and his group now own between 75% to 76% of this team.
01:55It's crazy.
01:57Do you believe, because, you know, I've been there many times.
02:01And it's not only that.
02:02He owns that health sports park.
02:06He owns the LA Live, which I've partied at and eaten at and drank at and done everything at, like at the Super Bowl.
02:16Partying there was crazy.
02:18The Galaxy, as you mentioned.
02:21And then, do you believe that, because Anschutz is so old now, that he's going to sell all of that to Walter as well very soon?
02:32Do you expect that to happen?
02:34I think it's in play because of this.
02:36They had been talking, Scotty.
02:38This was back in 2013.
02:40So, this was some time ago that they were on the verge of a deal that he would have bought the whole kid and caboodle, as you mentioned.
02:47The LA Live, Dignity Health, the Kings and the Galaxy, whatnot, for $7 billion.
02:53I mean, you would have to probably 2X that at this point.
02:57It's probably $14 billion.
02:58But when you're 86 years old, like Philip Anschutz is, you may be looking to move on.
03:06So, this group, they got, when I say a ton of money, it's the kind of money that you've not seen before.
03:13They're backed by a lot of other, like, outside groups as well.
03:18They own Chelsea Football Club.
03:21Right.
03:21So, yeah, I really think that they wouldn't be in play.
03:24And then at that point, Scott, you're looking at one group that would own the Lakers, the Dodgers, the Kings, the Galaxy, the Sparks, and all that stuff.
03:33They own everything.
03:34And then he even owns the new Cadillac Formula One team, which is insane.
03:41And he's, it doesn't stop there.
03:44How much did you know of him through all these World Series and division titles that he was the main man of all those kind of, the conglomerate that is the ownership group of the Dodgers?
03:58He's the head guy, but there's a bunch of them.
04:01There is, but it's a good point.
04:02He is the head guy.
04:04He personally owns the biggest stake in the Dodgers at, I think, is close to 27%.
04:10But you're right.
04:11There's a 10-person group that owns the Dodgers.
04:15You know, you go down that group of Peter Goober and Magic Johnson and whatnot.
04:21But Mark Walter was the guy.
04:23He doesn't do a lot of media.
04:24He doesn't do a lot of press.
04:26I talked to him very briefly when the team was in Tokyo to begin the season.
04:31And just, he's the money.
04:34And that's why this transaction was so seamless.
04:38I mean, there's a lot of people in place that worked for the Lakers and that worked for the Dodgers, whether it's Magic Johnson or Lon Rosen.
04:46And so, that's why this was a seamless transition.
04:50And that's why Jeannie Buss will be in charge for the next few years.
04:54They have no problem with that.
04:55They just wanted to own the Lakers.
04:58They now own the two most popular teams in Los Angeles, and it's not particularly close.
05:03And there's a big gap, and you can kind of debate who's number three.
05:06The top two are the Dodgers and the Lakers, and Mark Walter now owns those two teams.
05:12This guy is now the most powerful owner in sports, all of sports.
05:19Yeah, I mean, when you talk about two-storied franchises, again, when people heard of the $10 billion valuation, Scott, as you well know, there's professional sports teams, and then there's the Cowboys and the Yankees and the Dodgers and the Lakers.
05:35I mean, these are different brands.
05:37These are worldwide brands.
05:38These are brands that will only continue to go up in value, and you only need to look at this gap.
05:44When they bought their 27% only four years ago, they bought it at a $5 billion valuation.
05:53This now is a $10 billion valuation team in just four years.
05:57So, if you're looking to invest your money, they realize professional sports is where you got to go.
06:03I got one minute, respectfully.
06:05I thought Jeannie at 63, if she waited 10 more years, it would have been worth $20 billion.
06:11I don't believe she'll go longer than I said the cap was five years on her running the team.
06:16At some point, this guy is going to be going to these meetings as the governor.
06:19He owns everything.
06:20You're 100% right.
06:22So, they will be respectful to her, but this is a little bit like Mark Cuban.
06:25I think everyone's saying the right things right now, Scott.
06:28But at the end of the day, she no longer owns the team.
06:31So, if they're struggling, if they're not playing well or whatnot, you will see Mark Walter take control,
06:38and they will respectfully, they will do it respectfully, but tell Jeannie, thank you, but you are no longer needed here.
06:47That's what happens to all of them in business or otherwise.
06:52Eventually, they say, yeah, we're going to let them remain as CEO until they give them the golden parachute and throw them out the window.
06:57Real fast, five seconds.
06:59They're not going to change crypto because they just spent a ton of money on it, right, the arena?
07:03Scott, they got to leave there until 2040, 2041, so they are there long term.
07:09Arash, I love you.
07:10It's always good to see you.
07:11Thanks for all the skinny on the Lakers sale, my man.
