SportsInvest Newsflash (by Oakwell Sports Advisory)
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Top Stories of the Week
Glazers begin talks with US private equity firm over minority stake in Manchester United
Manchester United’s owners, the Glazer family, have begun exclusive talks with US private equity firm Apollo to sell a minority stake in the club.
It is understood that the Glazers are not prepared to cede control of United, with brothers Avram and Joel expected to keep their shares and oversee the day-to-day running of the Old Trafford club.
However, other family members are believed to be seeking an exit. Any deal to sell a minority stake to Apollo is not expected to be concluded until next month at the earliest.
Jim Ratcliffe declares interest in buying Manchester United
Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe has declared his interest in buying English football club Manchester United if its controlling owners, the Glazers, are open to a sale.
Ratcliffe, founder of the Ineos petrochemicals group and one of the UK’s richest people, is a life-long supporter of the club and has often been tipped as a possible bidder if the US family chose to sell.
When asked on Wednesday about the prospect of acquiring or investing in United, an Ineos spokesperson said: “Yes, we are interested if the club is for sale”. Manchester United declined to comment.
Penn to take full ownership of Barstool Sports
Penn Entertainment, the US regional gaming giant until recently known as Penn National Gaming, is set to buy the remainder of Barstool Sports, the US-based sports and pop culture platform in which it is already a minority shareholder.
In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Penn noted that it had call rights “to all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Barstool Sports” and that it had exercised these to take full ownership of the company.
Penn will pay $387m to acquire the outstanding shares.
In its SEC filing, Penn indicates that it expects the acquisition to be completed in February 2023, subject to various conditions and regulatory approval.
Football
DFL tells Bundesliga clubs it will examine options for ‘strategic partnership’
The prospect of a private equity deal with the Bundesliga has been raised once again following discussions with clubs at the DFL’s AGM, held on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the DFL told clubs from the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 that it is considering the pursuit of a “strategic partnership” that would bring investment and outside expertise into the Bundesliga.
In a statement, the DFL said it informed clubs “about current considerations for the future of German professional football. Among other things, this includes examining the option of a strategic partnership that will bring growth capital and know-how in future fields for the league and clubs”.
New deal could see US investors jump at Championship clubs
Football finance expert Dr Dan Plumley has insisted that American investors could now be more interested in Championship clubs with a new merit-based system potentially in place.
The new deal being discussed by Premier League clubs could bring in a merit-based system rather than parachute payments – something American investors prefer. Bigger clubs who have chances to finish higher up are likely targets.
Players as part owners: Is Cesc Fabregas’ deal with Como the future of football?
Cesc Fabregas’ recent signing with FC Como involves him becoming a co-owner of the club. So could this be a trend that is set to continue?
Within English football, and European sport more generally, the player-ownership model is complex. The Premier League’s rules prevent a person from being involved in the management or administration of more than one club. The English Football League, however, permits shareholdings over 10% when held purely for investment purposes.
This legal complexity was highlighted in 2021 after Gareth Barry was charged for allegedly breaching the FA’s regulations over his ownership and funding of Swindon Town FC while an Everton player.
North America
NBA’s recent valuations surge still can’t match NFL
In the segment from 2012 to 2021, NBA values increased 387%, while the NFL, MLB and NHL were up 215%, 215% and 207%, respectively, each more or less in line with stock market growth.
The average NFL franchise value is up 18% over the last year, according to Sportico’s calculations, after rising 14% in the previous year.
There are 16 NFL franchises worth at least $4bn, versus seven total in the other U.S. sports leagues (four in MLB, three in the NBA).
Washington Nationals expect bids for team by end of season
The Washington Nationals are expecting bids to purchase the team before the end of the regular season on October 5th.
At least five parties have reviewed the team’s financial reports and met with team personnel.
Washington Capitals, Wizards, and Mystics owner Ted Leonsis, former CEO of three MLB teams Larry Lucchino, Freedom Mortgage CEO Stanley Middleman, and co-founder of private equity firm MBK Partners Michael B. Kim have all shown interest.
Forbes valued the Nationals at $2bn in March. The New York Mets were sold for $2.4bn in November 2020.
NBA owner Ranadive nears record $90m buy of Sacramento MiLB Club
A group led by Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is on the verge of purchasing the city’s minor league baseball team for approximately $90m.
It would be the highest price ever paid for a minor league team. The deal, which includes the River Cats’ Sutter Health Park, would expand Ranadive’s real estate development in downtown Sacramento and the surrounding area. The ballpark was built and opened in 2000 at a cost of $46.5m at the time.
The River Cats are a Triple-A minor league franchise of the Giants, who play at Oracle Park in San Francisco, about 85 miles from Sacramento. The minor league team, which was affiliated with the Oakland A’s until 2014, has been owned by the Savage family since 1998.
Tennis
Tennis players find their match on Break the Love
Seeking to establish an online social network for those tennis players is Break the Love, which raised $2.5m in seed funding earlier this year from investors that included the Adidas family-backed Lake Nona Fund, retired Wimbledon doubles champion Vania King, and Wim Fissette, the former tennis coach for Naomi Osaka.
More than 21 million Americans played tennis last year a 22% increase compared to 2020 according to data cited by the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
Break the Love was founded by Trisha Goyal, a former product manager at ESPN and passionate tennis player, in 2019 after she was being underwhelmed with the sport’s existing options for match scheduling and networking.
Combat Sports
Qatar-backed martial arts firm group One eyeing US IPO
Group One Holdings, the company behind mixed martial arts brand One Championship, is considering a US initial public offering after previously exploring a listing via a blank-check firm.
Group One is changing its legal domicile to the Cayman Islands from its current one in Singapore as a step towards a potential US listing. The company plans to notify the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, the Singaporean regulator, as early as Monday.
The MMA firm raised $150m in December in an equity financing round led by Guggenheim Investments and Qatar Investment Authority. The round gave Group One a post-money valuation of $1.35bn.
Group One will use the funding from the December round to boost its growth strategy, including diversifying its content offerings and expand outside Asia.
Collectibles
Alt raising another $17m for sports card investment fund
Sports collectibles platform Alt seeks an infusion of $16.9m in new funds to expand its sports card investment fund, according to a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Alt also runs a collectibles exchange and storage business, backed by early venture capital funding from a number of investors, including Alexis Ohanian, Kevin Durant and Darren Rovell.
“For some context, the fund has raised ~$25m (the NAV of which is up quite a bit),” Alt founder Leore Avidar wrote in an email. “Not only is it the largest sports card/collectible fund but it’s outperformed the S&P and continues to have a low correlation to the S&P 500. We have purchased the top 1% assets in the card category and plan on doing quite a bit with the fund over the next two years.”
Alt’s card brokerage and storage business has raised $305m in venture capital money, according to data from Crunchbase, including a $75m Round B in 2021 that included soccer star Alex Morgan, Tom Brady and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the subject of one of the Alt card fund’s early investments
Esports
Oddin.gg raises $4.5m in Series A financing round
Esports betting odds provider Oddin.gg has raised $4.5m through its Series A funding round.
The funding round, led by current investors as well as Genting Ventures and Velo Partners, will be used to scale the company further and develop ‘new verticals’.
Apart from strengthening its team, the funds will be used to improve Oddin.gg’s portfolio of services. According to the company, this means providing betting operators with “everything they need to set up successful business operations”. This includes data visualisations, marketing, odds feed, risk management and iFrame solutions.
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