🔊 Billionaire Buys Into Brooklyn Nets

📰 TOP STORY
Julia Koch Buys 15% Of BSE Global, Parent Company Of Brooklyn Nets, Liberty & Barclays

• Julia Koch Buys 15% Of BSE Global. The billionaire widow and her family have agreed to buy a 15% stake in the parent company of the Brooklyn Nets from Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai. BSE Global, which also owns Barclays Center, the New York Liberty, and the Nets' training facility, was valued at $6 billion in the sale, according to a memo sent to NBA owners on Tuesday, per Sportico. Koch was married to the late billionaire David Koch. Forbes ranks Julia Koch as the 23rd-richest person in the world, with a net worth of $65.7 billion. She and her children inherited 42% of Koch Industries -- one of the largest privately held companies in the nation -- upon the death of her husband, David, in 2019. BSE Global and the teams will remain under the control of Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai. Joe Tsai's net worth is $8.6 billion, per Forbes. Joe Tsai will continue as chairman of BSE Global and governor of the Nets; his wife will remain vice-chair of the corporation and governor of the Liberty (more here).

💰 MONEY MOVES 
The Picklr Raises Series B Round At $59M Valuation

• The Picklr Closes Series B Financing With A $59M Valuation. The Picklr, a Kaysville, UT-based indoor pickleball franchise, raised a Series B funding, at a $59M valuation. The round was led by Pickleball Inc. The company, which has raised $9M in total funding, intends to use the funds for growth among several pickleball sectors and consolidation among top pickleball franchises (more here).

• Loop Golf Completes $1M Raise. Loop Golf, the online booking platform helping golfers get the best tee times at the busiest local courses, announced a $1 million seed funding round that accelerates its mission of becoming the dominant marketplace to find and book any tee time at any course in the US (more here).

• Ixia Launches $20M Global Gaming Venture Fund and Studio. Ixia Capital, a venture capital fund and studio, has launched with an investment of $20 million focused on high-growth companies across gaming, esports, digital assets, and complementary technologies (more here).

• LunchTable Raises $2.4M Seed. LunchTable, founded by Joshua Reid, has raised $2.4 million in seed funding to revolutionize fan engagement. The tech is currently being tested by the Cincinnati Reds and FC Cincinnati (more here).

• Satisfi Labs Acquires Factoreal. Satisfi Labs, an AI-powered Conversational Experience Platform for sports and entertainment experiences, has acquired Factoreal, an omnichannel marketing automation platform focused on simplifying the martech experience across sports and entertainment (more here).

• Naomi Osaka’s Media Company, Hana Kuma, Receives Investment From The Players Fund. Hana Kuma has attracted investment from athlete-led venture capital firm The Players Fund. The investment will help create partnerships and explore new content-creation opportunities. The Players Fund joins SpringHill, Nike, Epic Games, and Fenway Sports Group as investors in Hana Kuma (more here).

• Myocene Raises €3M. Myocene, the Liège-based sports tech company developing a unique, cutting-edge device to measure muscle fatigue objectively, announced a €3 million raise to accelerate its growth, particularly the international commercialization of its device on the European and American markets (more here).

• Seattle Sounders Group Completes Seattle Reign Purchase. The $58 million sale of Seattle Reign FC to a new ownership group that includes MLS' Seattle Sounders FC is finally complete. The Sounders are joined by private equity firm the Carlyle Group in the new ownership group. The Carlyle Group is investing more than 50% of the joint venture, but the Sounders were "instrumental" in getting the deal done, said Alex Popov, Carlyle's head of private credit (more here).

 🤝 PARTNERSHIPS
Nike & Hyperice Team Up To Launch Tech-Enabled Boots & Vests

• Nike & Hyperice Unveil Recovery Boot Ahead Of Olympics. Nike athletes traveling to Paris will have recovery technology on the go. And on their feet thanks to the new Hyperboot, a collaboration between Nike and Hyperice that features heat and air compression for feet and ankles in the form of a high-top boot (more here).

• Topgolf Callaway Brands Joins Forces With Visa. Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. announced that it has entered into a multiyear strategic agreement with Visa, that extends across Topgolf Callaway's family of brands, including Topgolf, Callaway, and TravisMathew. The partnership brings co-promotional opportunities and cardholder benefits that will kick off this summer with select Cash App Card offers at Topgolf (more here).

• PrizePicks & State Farm Arena Announce Marketing Partnership. As part of the partnership, PrizePicks will receive highly visible in-arena signage in State Farm Arena for every concert, hip-hop show, comedy show, and other sporting events. They will also have rotating, full-day exposure in the heart of Atlanta's Sports and Entertainment District, steps away from State Farm Arena, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the Georgia World Congress Center (more here).

• Athlete Management Agency TMJ Signs Partnership With StatsBomb. TMJ, an agency that focuses primarily on women’s soccer will use Statsbomb’s data to track the performance of its current players, scout potential new signings, and analyze how different players fit within specific playing styles and club philosophies. TMJ will have access to StatsBomb's data spec that records over 3,400 events per match and includes unique metrics such as Pass Footedness, Shot Impact Height, and Pressures By Player & Team (more here).

• SportsEngine Play & Sports Facilities Companies Partner On Venue Streaming. SportsEngine Play, NBC Sports Next’s new youth and amateur sports streaming platform, and the Sports Facilities Companies have announced a multi-year video streaming partnership at SFC-managed sports venues each year. The partnership advances SportsEngine Play’s entry into the facilities market, providing game and event streaming opportunities for SFC’s 60-plus managed venues (more here).

🔊 ATHLETES & OTHER SPORTS NEWS
Shaun White Launches Year-Round Snowboarding League

• Shaun White Launches New Year-Round Snowboarding League. The three-time Olympic gold medalist is launching a professional snowboarding circuit, The Snow League, which is advertised as the sport’s first pro league for global snowboarding and freeskiing competitions. Investors include Blackstone’s David Blitzer and former NFL star Larry Fitzgerald Jr. The Snow League’s first event is set for March in the US (more here).

• How Blockchain Is Helping Sports Enthusiasts Flex Their Fandom. According to Rachel Conlan Global Chief Marketing Officer at leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance, “Blockchain is the next level way to create those deeper interactions and ultimately improve the fan experience beyond what is in the stadium or at the grid (more here).

• Private Equity Firms Have $1.2T To Spend On NFL Teams. Will The League Finally Let Them? The NFL is an exclusive club, and for those looking to buy their way in, the price of a franchise has gotten so high it’s beyond the reach of ordinary billionaires. But now the league is set to change its rules and allow private equity firms, which make their living buying and flipping businesses, to invest in teams (more here).

• Risking Everything to Lose Money. Why do professional athletes keep putting their careers in jeopardy just to bet on sports (more here)?

• Investors Have Their Eyes On Women’s Sports As Profitability Soars. The rapid development of new leagues has made investing in women’s sports increasingly attractive and full of opportunities. Now, more than ever, women’s sports are on investors’ radars, with its status as one of the fastest-growing industries making the market especially enticing (more here).

• Caitlin Clark Is A Rorschach Test. How a 22-year-old WNBA sensation became the face of a culture war in America (more here).