Bob Iger is alleged to be eyeing a brand new Magic Kingdom in Las Vegas — an NBA franchise.
The previous Disney boss — and Thrive Capital founder Josh Kushner, brother of President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — have enlisted bankers as they weigh a push for a majority stake in a possible Las Vegas enlargement staff, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing folks conversant in the non-public talks.
No bid worth has been disclosed, and the NBA has not but permitted a Las Vegas franchise.
The attainable play would run by way of Thrive Everlasting, Kushner’s new long-term funding car geared toward shopping for stakes in sports activities groups, cultural manufacturers and different property constructed to outlast the tech cycle, in response to the report.
Iger rejoined Thrive as an adviser after stepping down as CEO of Disney in March.
The reported pursuit would mark one other high-profile possession bid in what has rapidly turn into a crowded race for probably the most coveted prizes in skilled sports activities possession.
The NBA’s Board of Governors voted in March to formally examine enlargement in Las Vegas and Seattle, with Commissioner Adam Silver saying the league hopes to find out by the top of the yr whether or not so as to add one franchise, two franchises or none in any respect.
Las Vegas has lengthy been considered because the main contender after evolving into one of many NBA’s showcase locations.
Town hosts the league’s annual Summer season League, staged the NBA Cup’s semifinal and championship video games and already has an NBA-ready venue in T-Cellular Area.
The Iger-Kushner staff would face stiff competitors.
Vegas Golden Knights proprietor Invoice Foley unveiled his personal enlargement effort earlier this month, proposing to base a franchise at T-Cellular Area.
Basketball Corridor of Famer Magic Johnson has additionally been linked to a separate possession group exploring a Las Vegas bid.
LeBron James, who for years publicly expressed curiosity in proudly owning an NBA staff in Las Vegas, poured chilly water on hypothesis about his curiosity earlier this yr, saying he was not pursuing an possession bid.
For Iger, the trouble would signify his newest transfer into sports activities investing after ending his second stint atop Disney in March.
The longtime leisure govt helped remodel Disney right into a media powerhouse by way of acquisitions together with Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and most of twenty first Century Fox, whereas overseeing ESPN’s decades-long relationship with the NBA.
Away from Disney, Iger and his spouse, Willow Bay, acquired a controlling stake within the Nationwide Girls’s Soccer League’s Angel Metropolis FC.
His relationship with Kushner has additionally deepened in recent times.
Iger first joined Thrive Capital as a enterprise associate after retiring from Disney in 2022. He famously got here again to Disney’s board when it recruited him to interchange Bob Chapek later that yr.
Though he returned to Disney, Iger remained an investor in Thrive after becoming a member of a syndicate that bought a minority stake within the enterprise capital agency in 2023.
His return this spring coincided with the launch of a brand new arm known as Thrive Everlasting. Its first introduced funding was a minority stake in Main League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants.
Final yr, Thrive Capital quietly purchased a small stake within the NBA’s Miami Warmth.
Kushner has constructed Thrive into one in all Silicon Valley’s most influential funding companies by way of early bets on corporations together with Instagram and OpenAI, whereas more and more increasing past conventional enterprise investing into sports activities and leisure.
Thrive declined to remark. The Put up has sought remark from Iger and the NBA.
