Sports Business

Man United takeover drama may end up in court

9 Jun 2023

The $3 bln soccer giant is up for sale. Hedge funds are preparing to fight any attempt by the controlling Glazer family to exclude minority investors from a deal. The club’s relatively low valuation, compared with recent takeovers, suggests a high chance of that happening.

Golf’s Saudi surrender is par for the course

7 Jun 2023

The sport’s main US and European tours are linking their commercial arms with Riyadh-run LIV Golf. Saudi gets the smaller stake despite being the only partner to put in cash. But as it has shown by splashing out on other sports, the chance to polish its image is more valuable.

Capital Calls: Amazon, Aramco

9 May 2023

Concise views on global finance: Rising costs and cautious consumers are driving the e-commerce giant to sell goods through mobile games and push incentives; the $2 trillion Saudi oil company’s new dividend policy is one way to interest investors in future share sales. 

Capital Calls: Crypto mysteries, HSBC

5 May 2023

Concise views on global finance: A court decision adds pressure on the US SEC to say which digital assets are securities, which would bring clarity to Coinbase and others; None of the $150 bln global bank’s big investors other than Ping An back an AGM breakup proposal.

Man U sale rejig will perturb other soccer sellers

19 Apr 2023

The Glazers want to sell the Red Devils for $7 bln, but may have to settle for a stake sale to private equity instead. That raises the question of whether club valuations have peaked. If so, the likes of Man City’s Silver Lake may find it harder to secure a lucrative exit.

James Murdoch’s cut-size India deal has some logic

14 Apr 2023

Rupert Murdoch’s son and ex-Disney executive Uday Shankar are pumping $530 mln into a cricket-rights owning joint venture with Reliance Industries, a third of the original amount. India’s streaming war may be heating up, but both sides had good reasons for a rethink.

WWE and UFC merger mania is quite the production

6 Apr 2023

The wrestling heavyweight has agreed to merge with Endeavor’s mixed martial arts franchise in a $21 bln deal. In this Viewsroom episode, Breakingviews columnists discuss why the transaction makes sense strategically, but the financial logic is contorted.

WWE-UFC headlock relies on financial theatrics

3 Apr 2023

Combining the producers of wrestling and mixed martial arts is set to create a new $21 bln company. Grappler-in-chief Vince McMahon gets a richer valuation on paper than partner Endeavor’s outfit. This storyline, including potential synergies, leaves a lot to the imagination.

Kanye West blunder puts Adidas in play

15 Mar 2023

The $28 bln sportswear maker is battling to restore its image after ditching a lucrative but dubious alliance with the musician. That requires CEO Bjorn Gulden to splurge on marketing, hitting dividends and margins. Adidas’s depressed valuation may soon catch the eye of rivals.

Buying WWE calls for intense financial contortions

3 Mar 2023

After making a dramatic return to the ring, founder Vince McMahon is eyeing a possible sale of his worldwide wrestling empire. Potential contenders for the $6.2 bln company include UFC owner Endeavor. The numbers and ownership structure, however, make a deal hard to stack up.

Soccer’s new M&A binge will mostly benefit players

17 Feb 2023

Qatari investors are planning a $6 bln Man United offer, according to Bloomberg, while billionaire Jahm Najafi may swoop on Tottenham. Clubs are losing more of their revenue to player wages and transfers. That will only get worse as more rich owners chase scarce sporting talent.

Debt is poor fix for Italian soccer’s malaise

8 Feb 2023

Having rejected private equity suitors, Italy’s top football league may turn to Wall Street banks to borrow up to 1 bln euros. The cash may give Serie A’s ailing TV rights business extra time. But without a governance shake-up, gorging on debt would extend its losing streak.

Capital Calls: Cryptocurrency, Chelsea FC

1 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: Britain delivers a blow to digital assets by aiming to regulate them the same way as traditional ones, while the UK soccer team’s new owner Todd Boehly splashes the cash.

YouTube runs risky new play to capitalize on NFL

9 Jan 2023

Alphabet’s video service is paying some $14 bln over seven years to let fans watch nearly any game they want. The pricey Sunday Ticket package has been diluted, however. It would take 60% subscriber growth to break even, but user-generated clips give the deal a sporting chance.

Fitness firms’ regime: lots of brands, few assets

6 Jan 2023

Gym chains from boutiques like Barry’s to the no-frills Planet Fitness are reinventing how people get and stay in shape. Yet as the $100 bln fitness business faces competition, the fight for dollars has become much more bruising. The dominant firms are diversified and nimble.

Soccer giants’ new owners may get tiny returns

30 Dec 2022

Manchester United, Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain are up for sale, either in part or in full. A near $3.7 bln price tag each seems possible, banking the sellers a tidy return. Yet slowing TV rights deals and spiralling player wages mean the buyers will probably fare worse.

Female fans will fuel Formula One in 2023

23 Dec 2022

Liberty Media’s testosterone-powered franchise is ready to shift gear. A docuseries following its drivers was among Netflix’s best-watched shows and lured more women to the racing stands. Forget Lewis Hamilton: finding a Louise Hamilton could rev up that trend and boost revenue.

Linchpins of excess inflate NBA’s $4 bln deal

21 Dec 2022

The Phoenix Suns sale represents a giant 160% bounce on its valuation last year. Buyer Mat Ishbia is paying with a fortune built on U.S. mortgages and the SPAC craze. A rivalry with another billionaire adds ego to the bloated mix of sports, housing and financial engineering.

Qatar has got what it wanted from the World Cup

15 Dec 2022

The Gulf state has taken more flak than it would have done had it not staged the soccer tournament, which ends on Sunday. Yet in this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how Qatar’s largely successful event also aids a strategy to make itself globally visible.

Adidas has sneaker each side of ESG turf war

15 Dec 2022

The $24 bln group is probing claims it ignored inappropriate behaviour by Kanye West. Adidas is big in both Europe and the U.S., where investors differ on the “E” of environmental, social and governance issues. It may soon discover how much they diverge on “S” ones, too.