Owners Box: Club Member Newsletter - March 15th
UK government takes over Chelsea sale, Euro Super League set for relaunch, Fenway Sports frontrunners for NBA in Vegas & Apollo eyeing sports PE fund
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Highlights:
Apollo Global Has Explored Launching Sports Private Equity Fund
NBA Rumors: Fenway Sports Group Leader to Get Vegas Team in Possible Expansion
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Recent Sports M&A News and Developments
Chelsea FC Ownership Saga
U.K. Takes Over Chelsea Sale, Sponsors Back Off - Front Office Sports - March 11th, 2022
NBA Kings Owner Vivek Ranadivé Prepping a Run at Chelsea - yahoo!sports - March 7th, 2022
Chelsea F.C. Reportedly Receives Numerous $4B Bids - Front Office Sports - March 4th, 2022
How much will someone pay for Abramovich’s Chelsea now? - The Athletic - March 3rd, 2022
Chelsea Owner Wants At Least $4B for Premier League Club - Front Office Sports - March 2nd, 2022
Roman Abramovich will receive bids to buy Chelsea this week and will consider selling the club - Bleacher Report - March 1st, 2022
NFL Wants Fully Capitalized Bids for Denver Broncos - Front Office Sports - March 13th, 2022
The NFL is requiring that bids for the Denver Broncos be fully capitalized to restrict buyers from raising money after an offer has already been made. Â
The club announced it was for sale on Feb. 1.
The league is looking to prevent a similar situation to the 2018 sale of the Carolina Panthers, which received investor-heavy offers from businessmen Ben Navarro and Alan Kestenbaum, but was only completed after billionaire David Tepper stepped up with a winning bid of $2.2 billion.Â
The Broncos are expected to sell for a record price between $3.5 billion and $4 billion.
The NFL will allow $1 billion of acquisition debt.
Currently, the Broncos are owned by the Pat Bowlen Trust, and its trustees have a fiduciary duty to get the most money possible from the sale, which must be approved by the NFL to be finalized.
PHF's Toronto Six purchased by Canadian investor group including Hall of Famer Angela James, Anthony Stewart - The Athletic - March 10th, 2022
The Premier Hockey Federation's Toronto Six has been purchased by an investor group including Hockey Hall of Famer Angela James and former NHL forward Anthony Stewart. The group represents the first BIPOC and Canadian investors in the league's history, the PHF said in a release Monday.
The new ownership group also includes former NHL Coach of the Year Ted Dolan, and Bernice Carnegie, co-chair of the Carnegie Initiative — a platform aimed at ensuring inclusivity in hockey — and more. The full list of investors will be announced at the closing of the sale.
Toronto, previously owned by BTM Partners, joined the league in 2020, winning the regular-season title in the pandemic-shortened 2021 season. The team is 13-2-1 this season, currently first in the league.
The six-team PHF, which recently received a $25 million investment, is expanding to eight teams for the 2022-23 season, along with implementing various changes including an increased salary cap ($750,000 per team) and full healthcare benefits for players.
Deal Close for Bills’ New $1.4B Stadium - Front Office Sports - March 7th, 2022
Details are falling into place for the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium.
New York State is expected to lead the funding for a $1.4 billion venue in Orchard Park, with contributions from the NFL and team owners Kim and Terry Pegula.
New York is expected to chip in around $850 million in its state budget, which will be finalized on April 1. NFL owners could potentially vote on a proposal at the league meetings from March 27-30.
The team can take out a $150 million loan from the league, repaid to the other 31 teams through visiting teams’ shares of Bills ticket revenue.
To access that loan program, the Pegulas must commit at least $200 million, which can partly come from selling personal seat licenses to season-ticket holders.
The stadium was initially left out of the state’s $216.3 billion budget during negotiations. The current lease expires in 2023.
Apollo Global Has Explored Launching Sports Private Equity Fund - yahoo!sports - March 7th, 2022
Apollo Global Management has explored launching a stand-alone sports private equity fund, according to multiple people familiar with the matter, though a fund start-up does not appear to be imminent.
Apollo (NYSE: APO) is one of the world’s largest private equity funds, with $455 billion assets under management. Executives at the firm have discussed a new fund that would focus on the sports industry—including technology and media—while staying open to taking stakes in professional teams, Sportico has learned from multiple sources.
Liga MX's Next Opportunity - Front Office Sports - March 6th, 2022
In 2021, the average MLS club valuation was $550 million, according to Sportico, but valuations for Liga MX franchises are sparse and rarely available. Transfermarkt generates Liga MX club valuations based on aggregate player transfer value, leaving the average valuation at $49 million.
These are by no means apples-to-apples comparisons, with the cited Liga MX valuations only encompassing one aspect of the value that teams provide. Fortunately, in late February, Liga MX club Necaxa added a new set of U.S. investors that valued the franchise at $200 million.
The deal comes on the heels of a first-of-its-kind 1% sale of the company through an NFT sale for $1.5 million and a 2021 investment from the Tylis-Porter group for a 50% stake.
European Super League Reportedly Set to Relaunch - Front Office Sports - March 3rd, 2022
In 2021, the average MLS club valuation was $550 million, according to Sportico, but valuations for Liga MX franchises are sparse and rarely available. Transfermarkt generates Liga MX club valuations based on aggregate player transfer value, leaving the average valuation at $49 million.
These are by no means apples-to-apples comparisons, with the cited Liga MX valuations only encompassing one aspect of the value that teams provide. Fortunately, in late February, Liga MX club Necaxa added a new set of U.S. investors that valued the franchise at $200 million.
The deal comes on the heels of a first-of-its-kind 1% sale of the company through an NFT sale for $1.5 million and a 2021 investment from the Tylis-Porter group for a 50% stake.In sports, no matter how badly you lose, you can always give it another shot — at least that’s what the remaining backers of the European Super League are hoping.
Nearly a year after the initial project rose and fell in a dramatic 48 hours, the league is reportedly preparing to relaunch with changes to the format and the participants.
Real Madrid, Juventus, and Barcelona never disavowed the original project and filed a suit against UEFA and FIFA in October on the grounds that the organizations both regulate and profit from the competitions they oversee, violating European competition law.
La Liga’s Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid, Serie A’s Juventus, Inter Milan, and AC Milan, and the Premier League’s Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea are all reportedly prepared to join.
A separate report denied that any Premier League clubs are involved in the relaunch.
The new Super League format reportedly eschews permanent membership for the promotion-relegation system familiar to European soccer.
NBA Rumors: Fenway Sports Group Leader to Get Vegas Team in Possible Expansion - Bleacher Report - March 1st, 2022
Having extended its reach into MLB, the NHL and England's Premier League, Fenway Sports Group might be setting its sights on the NBA next.
The Ringer's Bill Simmons reported on his podcast that FSG is a "leading contender" to land an expansion franchise in Las Vegas. Simmons said he believes Vegas and Seattle will be the NBA's next expansion destinations.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is among FSG's partners, and Simmons speculated that James will get involved in whatever the company's NBA plans would be.
Expansion in the NBA isn't imminent but is "inevitable" by commissioner Adam Silver's own admission in 2017.
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