Buss Considers a Public Sale of Stock in Lakers

Laker owner Jerry Buss, who has been considering offering Laker stock for public sale ever since learning of the Boston Celtics’ plans to do so, still hasn’t decided whether to proceed with the venture, a spokesman for Buss said Thursday.

“It’s very possible that Jerry will go public, but it’s not imminent,” said Bob Steiner, public relations director for California Sports, responding to a query about a public offering.

“And by imminent, that means not within the next three to six months.”

Since the Celtics’ owners made an offering of limited-partnership units representing about 40% of the team, the market value of the franchise has been put at $120 million, 22 times the earnings of the team in 1985-86. The sale has generated $48 million for the owners, a $29-million profit on their initial investment.

Buss bought the Lakers, Kings and the Forum from Jack Kent Cooke in June, 1979, for $67.5 million, the largest sports transaction in history at the time.

Buss learned of the Celtics’ sale before the opening of training camps last October, and has been studying a similar transaction involving the Lakers ever since, Steiner said.

“This would be a little more complicated than the Celtics’ deal, because it could possibly involve the Forum, the Kings and Prime Ticket,” Steiner said.

Prime Ticket is the cable sports network owned in equal parts by Buss and Bill Daniels, a Denver cable TV magnate and one-time owner of the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League.

Daniels also owns a 5% interest in the Lakers that he bought from the holdings of Buss’ former wife, Joanne. Buss owns 51% of the team and has voting control of the shares held by Joanne Buss.

Buss also owns 51% of the Kings. Last fall, Bruce McNall, chairman of a Beverly Hills film production company and owner of a couple of art galleries, bought a 25% interest in the team from Joanne Buss, who nows own 24% of the club.

Daniels, who lives part-time in Denver and was in attendance at the Laker-Nugget game Wednesday night, said that if Buss wanted to make a public offering, “I’d say go for it.”

“If there was any basketball team in the NBA that could match the (Celtics’) price or top it, it would be the Lakers,” Daniels said.

“Jerry’s investment was a lot less than that.”

Daniels said that contrary to persistent rumors of Buss having financial difficulties, “he’s never been in better shape than he is now.”

Daniels predicted that Prime Ticket, which has been losing money in the two years of its existence, will begin to turn a profit, perhaps as soon as May, and “no later than August.”

Daniels said he could not envision Buss relinquishing control of the Lakers. “He’s having too much damn fun--he says so,” Daniels said. “The guy’s having a ball. He’s really enjoying it. The guy has it made. He enjoys the excitement of the Lakers, the Kings, the concerts.”

Under his agreement with Buss, Daniels said, he has the right to buy any stock that comes up for sale other than to the public. But he dismissed the idea of someday buying the team from Buss. “If I weren’t so old, maybe,” Daniels, who is 67, said with a chuckle.

Earlier this week, the Denver Post reported that the Denver Nuggets would soon offer 2.2 million shares on the American Stock Exchange.

Laker Notes

The Lakers, who are in Chicago to play the Bulls tonight, may be without the services of new acquisition Mychal Thompson, who had a tender right ankle Thursday. Thompson, who landed on the foot of Denver center Wayne Cooper during Wednesday night’s game, originally described the injury as a “tweak,” but was in considerable pain and underwent treatment after the team arrived here Thursday. . . . The Lakers have lost in Chicago only once in their last 12 games against the Bulls, who were beaten by the Lakers in their only visit to Los Angeles, 110-103. In that game, Bull guard Michael Jordan scored 41 points, but it took him 43 shots to do so. Jordan has taken more than 40 shots one other time this season--43 against Houston on Jan. 15, which represents the most taken by an NBA player in a game this season. Both times, the Bulls lost. In his last game, Jordan scored 43 points and had 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals and 4 blocks, but the Bulls lost in overtime to Sacramento when King guard Derek Smith stole the ball from Jordan in the closing seconds.