SportsInvest Newsflash (by Oakwell Sports Advisory)
Stay up-to-date with sports investment trends & events worldwide
Top Stories of the Week:
Epic Games raises $2bn to grow metaverse efforts
Game developer and publisher Epic Games has announced a $2bn round of financing involving Sony Group Corporation and KIRKBI.
Epic Games said the financial injection will be used to support the company’s growth, and help advance its vision to build the metaverse.
The investment round included funding from technology conglomorate and previous Epic Games investor Sony Group Corporation, and KIRKBI, the investment company behind the LEGO Group. Sony and KIRKBNI both invested $1bn each.
WarnerMedia and Discovery close $40.4bn merger
The multibillion dollar merger between US media giants Discovery and WarnerMedia has officially closed.
It was announced in May 2021 that Discovery and AT&T-owned WarnerMedia had reached a definitive agreement to combine their respective media businesses. This will include the Discovery+ and HBO Max streaming platforms being merged into one offering, with the intent of rivaling other global players such as Netflix and Disney+.
The newly created standalone global media and entertainment company will be called Warner Bros Discovery, Inc (WBD). It will start trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange from 11th April. David Zaslav will lead the new business, which unveiled its full leadership team last week.
Infinite Reality to acquire esports’ ReKTGlobal for $470m
Metaverse specialist entertainment company Infinite Reality has agreed to acquire esports organisation ReKTGlobal in a $470m all-stock deal.
The pair have entered into a definitive merger agreement, with completion of the transaction subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and ReKT shareholder approval.
Founded in 2017 by Dave Bialek and Amish Shah, New York-based ReKT’s Team Rogue competes in the likes of League of Legends, Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League, and Apex. Its London Royal Ravens franchise also features in the Call of Duty League (CDL).
Football:
Government happy with four Chelsea bidders, but Roman Abramovich will decide on preferred option
All four bidders on the shortlist to buy Chelsea would pass government checks to allow a takeover of the club.
The government will issue a special licence for the sale to ensure that none of the proceeds will reach Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch and departing owner, and none of the four consortiums have connections to other sanctioned individuals.
Abramovich and the Chelsea board will decide on the preferred bidder and it is understood that they will not necessarily choose the highest bid as they will prioritise the future guardianship of the club. The preferred party would also have to pass the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ test.
All four bidders say that they will make cash-only offers and not load debt on to the club.
The deadline for final offers is Thursday 14th, with the funding arrangements for the takeover likely to be a key part of choosing the new owners.
Inter Miami co-owners Jorge and Jose Mas among investors poised to take over Real Zaragoza
Spanish second-tier club Real Zaragoza is poised to be taken over by a group of foreign investors, including Inter Miami co-owners Jorge and Jose Mas.
The consortium, which has agreed to acquire a 51% stake, also includes Gustavo Serpa, chairman of Colombian club Millonarios; Joseph Oughourlian, the president of French club Racing Lens; and investors Jim Carpenter and Jim Miller.
Raul Sanllehí, who has worked in senior roles for FC Barcelona and Arsenal, will become the club’s sports director.
Pagliuca hints at divesting interest in Atalanta to buy Chelsea
American investor Stephen Pagliuca hinted on Tuesday at being prepared to divest his interest in Italian club Atalanta to buy Premier League side Chelsea as he prepares to submit a bid this week.
Pagliuca, who is the joint owner of NBA team Boston Celtics, agreed to buy into Serie A club Atalanta in February, buying 55% of La Dea, the holding owned by Italy's Percassi family, which owns around 86% of the club.
Under European soccer governing body UEFA's rules, two clubs participating in the same competition cannot be directly or indirectly controlled by the same entity or managed by the same person.
Rugby Union:
Delay in NZ Rugby’s deal with Silver Lake
New Zealand Rugby has decided to delay the vote on the approval of the lucrative but controversial Silver Lake deal. It was originally planned for the deal with the US equity firm to be ratified at their AGM at the end of the month.
However, NZR Chief Executive Mark Robinson said it had been decided not to include the motion at the AGM after a request for more information from its Provincial Unions. Robinson said the unions had asked for more time to discuss some key areas of the overall deal structure. The delay is not expected to take long.
The proposed deal would result in Silver Lake investing $200m in a new commercial entity, called CommercialCo and remain under the control of NZR, that will control all revenue-generating assets of NZR.
Motorsport:
Nissan takes full control of e.dams Formula E team
Nissan has taken full ownership of the French-based e.dams team in the Formula E championship.
Nissan entered the all-electric series in 2018 in partnership with e.dams and last year confirmed its commitment to the next stage of the championship through to 2026.
"This acquisition will further empower us in the strategic electrification objectives of our business," said Nissan's chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta.
US:
Walmart heir Rob Walton expected to make Broncos bid
Walmart heir Rob Walton, who is worth more than $70bn, is expected to make a $4bn-plus bid to acquire the National Football League’s Denver Broncos.
April 8th marked the deadline for first-round bids, with the Broncos only accepting offers of more than $4bn, which would be a record-setting mark in the North American sports industry.
Walton, is not only believed to have entered the race, he has also emerged as the presumptive favorite due to his immense wealth as the former chairman of retail giant Walmart.
American media mogul Byron Allen, the chief executive of the Allen Media Group, is the only person who has publicly declared their interest in buying the Broncos.
Esports, Gaming, & Fantasy:
Community Gaming closes $16m Series A round
Esports tournaments platform Community Gaming has closed a $16m Series A funding round, led by SoftBank Group.
The round was carried out via Softbank’s SB Opportunity Fund and included participation from Animoca Brands, Binance Labs, BITKRAFT Ventures and Griffin Gaming Partners.
Community Gaming, founded in the US by Chris Gonsalves, Evany Chang and Hayder Sharhan, is a platform focused on esports tournaments organised by users. The company utilises blockchain technology for prizing and payments.
Animoca Brands acquires Eden Games for $16m to grow motorsport ecosystem
Metaverse and blockchain gaming firm Animoca Brands has purchased French developer Eden Games in a $16m deal designed to enhance and extend the former’s REVV motorsport ecosystem.
Eden Games was founded in Lyon, France in 1998 and initially gained fame for console titles like V-Rally and Test Drive Unlimited before moving into the mobile arena with Gear.Club and F1 Mobile Racing. The company also has long-term partnerships with more than 30 brands in the automotive industry, including BMW, Bugatti, Porsche, and Lotus.
Specifically, Animoca hopes to use Eden Games’ platforms and development expertise to build on its existing titles and create new blockchain-based racing games that allow players to buy and trade non-fungible tokens that can be used in races to win REVV utility tokens that have real world value.
Sixers Innovation Lab launches fund to support startups across esports, gaming
Sixers Innovation Lab, a venture capital fund supported by Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment (HBSE), has launched a second fund to support early-stage startups across the United States, led by Managing Director Seth Berger.
The fund will focus on B2C and B2B2C companies in esports and gaming, alongside sports, media, entertainment and merchandising.
The Sixers Innovation Lab is a venture capital focused on supporting rapidly growing, early-stage companies in the consumer product space. The fund provides individualised consulting and investment, as well as access to industry experts, executives and financiers, as well as third-party branding, marketing and legal services.
ZujuGP—cofounded by billionaire Peter Lim and his son Kiat Lim—has acquired the team behind Tokigames as the digital platform for football seeks to gamify the sport for online fans.
Under the deal, Tokigames founders Mervyn Lau, Benedict Goh, Matthews Chang and Warren Goh as well as their 10 employees will join ZujuDigital to drive the gamification of the all-football digital platform that’s also backed by Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
The acquisition will enable ZujuGP to develop and deliver rich, immersive digital experiences and activities to football fans around the world.
Broadcasting & Media:
Footballco acquires Kooora in $25m deal
Digital soccer media company Footballco has announced an agreement to buy Dubai-based platform Kooora, in a deal worth more than $25m.
Kooora is the largest digital sports publisher in the Middle East and Footballco, which is majority owned by US-based investment firm TPG, is looking to use the acquisition to bolster its regional content offering. Goal.com, the global soccer platform acquired from DAZN in 2020, has seven local editions in the Middle East which provide content in both English and Arabic.
Tagboard's funding rises to $10.3m for its interactive broadcasting software
Interactive sports broadcast producer Tagboard has raised $2.3m to increase its Series A investment to $10.3m. New investors in Tagboard include West River Group, Spivy Private Capital and Sports Loft.
The capital builds on Tagboard’s $8m raised in February. Tagboard’s cloud production software lets networks add interactive polls and real-time content from social media feeds into broadcasts, as well as on-screen QR codes that viewers can scan with their mobile phones to access second-screen experiences such as merchandise and sports betting applications.
More than 600 brands use Tagboard, including NBC Sports, MLB Network, NFL Network, Turner Sports, Fox Sports and Riot Games, as well as teams and leagues such as the Minnesota Vikings and UFC.
Foxtel IPO plans ‘back on hold’ amid uncertain investor demand
Plans to publicly float Australian pay-television operator Foxtel this year have been delayed due to uncertain demand among potential investors.
Impressive growth in Foxtel’s streaming business in recent years led the company to seriously consider an IPO this year.
A variety of factors contributed to the decision to delay. These included: rising inflation, the war in Ukraine, and weakness in the share prices of US-based streaming services. Netflix stock, for example, is down 40% on the Nasdaq market this year.
Foxtel is ready to go ahead with the flotation once market conditions improve. Background legal and administrative work has been completed, including the creation of a prospectus. The company hopes to raise A$1bn from the IPO.
Sinclair agrees strategic partnership with Wave
Sinclair Sports Group has announced a strategic partnership with California-based digital sports media company Wave Sports + Entertainment (WSE).
The deal will see the two companies combine their media assets under a single offering to provide brands and agencies with a large portfolio of sports media content across linear, digital and social media channels.
The Sinclair Sports Group is home to a number of leading media brands, including the Bally Sports regional sports network, the Tennis Channel and Stadium.
WSE programming is distributed across Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok and is claimed to have 110 million followers generating over six billion monthly video views.
The company’s media brands include Haymakers, Gym Heroes, Buckets and WAVE.tv.
Performance Analysis:
Trace raises $47m to develop youth sports automated camera tech
Automated youth sports video camera startup Trace has raised $47m in series C funding, allowing it to build on its technology and expand its reach into new markets.
Pelion Venture Partners led the round with Lakestar, Toba Capital, and NextGen VP also involved, bringing the total funding raised by the company to $64.2m.
Trace’s camera uses a wide-angle camera and sensor technology to capture the entire game on its own and then uses artificial intelligence to create personalised packages of edited highlights.
Merchandising:
Fanatics plans more deals as it seeks complete sports experience
The billionaire chief executive of Fanatics plans to push on with his acquisition spree after raising another $1.5bn from investors, as the US group continues to expand from sports merchandising into digital collectibles and trading cards.
“All the capital raises are always for M&A, we don’t raise capital for our operations,” Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin told the Financial Times. “We’ll continue to be acquisitive”.
Fanatics has already splashed out roughly $700m in the US this year on the Topps trading cards business and vintage sportswear maker Mitchell & Ness. Rubin plans more deals after the fundraising this month, which valued Fanatics at $27bn.
Betting:
Sportradar acquires betting personalisation company Vaix
Sportradar has announced the acquisition of Vaix, a technology company specialising in betting personalisation for the iGaming industry.
Vaix uses artificial intelligence to help betting and gaming operators gain a better understanding of their customers and provide them with more tailored betting experiences. Operators can use the technology to promote the best possible bet to customers without them having to search and promote the right offer based on future value and churn probability.
Sportradar has already worked with Vaix for over two years, integrating the technology into its Managed Trading Services (MTS) offering for bookmakers. The MTS solution is designed to help betting operators to increase margins and profits while managing risk and increasing efficiency.
Ticketing:
Elevate Sports Ventures enters JV with Recentive Analytics
Prominent sports and entertainment consulting firm Elevate Sports Ventures has expanded its capabilities, particularly around predictive modelling for ticketing, by entering into a joint venture with Recentive Analytics, a Massachusetts-based technology firm.
Elevate, a partnership between several major entities including the National Football League’s San Francisco 49ers, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, Oak View Group, Ticketmaster, and Live Nation, will use Recentive’s Precast ticket modelling solution to aid clients in modelling out their event attendances and setting their ticket strategy.
The Precast technology, already used by more than 30 clients spanning seven leagues including the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will support Elevate’s strategic consulting arm, Elevate Insights.
The joint venture adds to Elevate’s acquisition last year of another ticket pricing and analytics company, the United States college sports-focused Dynamic Pricing Partners.
Accelerator:
Techstars picks 13 sports tech startups for Indianapolis Accelerator
Techstars has selected 13 startups to join its fourth-annual Indianapolis sports accelerator. Startups will receive mentorship throughout the 13-week program, whose partners include the Pacers, Colts, NCAA, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar Series.
This year’s cohort includes sports betting startups FTN Network, Scrimmage and GameplAI; mental training app Rewire Fitness; athlete fan token platform VO2; fitness training apps RepOne, Fit! and EvenLift; AI running coach Perform; anti-microbial leggings maker OYA Femtech; season ticket customization app Season Share; loyalty program startup The Fan’s Place; and racehorse ownership app Thoroughbred Racing.
Techstars receives 6% equity in each company and makes an offer to invest $120,000 at a valuation between $3-5m.
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