🔊 Former NBA Team Owner Secures $445M For Sports Fund

📰 TOP STORY
Former Bucks Owner Marc Lasry Raises Nearly Half Billion For Sports Investment Fund

• Former Buck Owner Marc Lasry’s Sports Fund Secures Almost A Half Billion In Funding. According to regulatory filings, Marc Lasry’s Avenue Capital Group has secured at least $445 million for its sports fund. The substantial fundraising signals sustained LP's interest in exposure to sports teams and related businesses, particularly from fund managers who have access to these deals. The billionaire investment manager and sports investor’s firm—which he co-founded with his sister Sonia Gardner in 1995—launched the sport-focused vehicle in October with plans to deploy LP capital across a variety of sports teams, owners, and leagues (more here)

💰 MONEY MOVES 
Liberty Media Acquires Formula E Stake From Warner Bros Discovery

• Liberty Global Acquires Formula E Stake From Warner Bros. Discovery. Liberty Global is set to take a controlling interest in Formula E following the purchase of shares from Warner Brothers Discovery. The acquisition will take Liberty Global’s shareholding in the series to 65%, having previously bought a third back in 2015, and is subject to regulatory approval, which is expected to go through before the end of the year (more here).

• Hudl In Talks To Buy Football Analytics Company StatsBomb. Hudl, one of the leading performance analysis platforms in football, is in talks to acquire StatsBomb, a soccer analytics company that was founded in 2016 by Charlotte Randall and Ted Knutson. The Nebraska-based Hudl previously acquired video platforms Wyscout and Instat in 2019 and 2022, and has dominated the video analysis market for over a decade (more here).

• AnyCreek Raises $1.8M In Seed Funding. AnyCreek, a Memphis, TN-based startup allowing access to guided experiences, such as fishing and hunting, with guides and outfitters, raised $1.8M in Seed funding. The round, which brings the total funding to $3.3M, included participation from Starting Line, Bridge Investments, LaunchTN, and other angel investors (more here).

• Deemples Raises $2M In Funding. Deemples, a Malaysia-based app-based platform for golfers, has raised $2M from Singapore-based venture capital firm V Ventures. Deemples is a platform that helps golfers easily find and organize games, from casual rounds to tournaments. According to the company, it has doubled its active golfer base in Malaysia since its last fundraising round (more here).

• Chicago Atlantic Provides Debt Financing To GF Sports & Entertainment. Chicago Atlantic announced that it acted as an administrative agent on the funding of a senior secured credit facility for GF Capital Sports Holdings, ("GF Sports & Entertainment"). GF Sports & Entertainment owns and operates the Dallas Open, a tennis tournament recently upgraded to ATP 500 status, which will host global professional tennis players at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, the Dallas Cowboys’ world corporate headquarters and training facility, beginning February 2025 (more here).

 🤝 PARTNERSHIPS
Women’s Pro Soccer League Reaches Multi-Year Agreement With Peacock

• USL Super League & Peacock Ink Multiyear Media Rights Agreement. The USL Super League, a new professional women’s soccer league that will begin play this summer, and Peacock announced that the streaming service will become the “Official Home of the USL Super League,” in the league’s inaugural season. The multi-year agreement is the centerpiece of an expanded partnership with NBCUniversal that will see additional USL leagues and properties leverage NBC Sports Next’s SportsEngine Play streaming service and innovative digital products (more here).

• FC Barcelona & Hewlett Packard Enterprise Join Forces. FC Barcelona and Hewlett Packard Enterprise have signed a partnership agreement for HPE to become the new Espai Barça Official Edge-to-Cloud Partner for the next four seasons, until 30 June 2028. This alliance is aimed at revolutionizing the spectator experience in the sport. Barça’s new facilities will be equipped with a world-class technology environment featuring HPE Aruba Networking and HPE GreenLake cloud, enabling real-time data analytics and integrated security solutions (more here).

• D3 Sports Tech Partners With Oneder Shot. D3 Sports Tech, the developer of the first legal wagering wallet for golf apps and simulators, has partnered with Oneder Inc. to supply technology and compliance services to support their Oneder Shot Global Golf Competition with an astounding $10,000,000 prize pool (more here).

• Sotheby’s & Fanatics Team Up To Offer Rare Sports Trading Card Auctions. Fanatics and Sotheby’s are partnering on a new set of live and online auctions that will feature some of the rarest and most expensive trading cards across all sports. The Michael Rubin-led Fanatics has looked to transform the trading card industry, reaching diehard collectors and casual sports fans alike (more here).

🔊 ATHLETES & OTHER SPORTS NEWS
Chicago Bears Rookie QB Caleb Williams Launches An Investment Firm

• Chicago Bears Rookie Quarterback Caleb Williams Launches Investment Firm. Caleb Williams, the first player selected in the 2024 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears, announced his new investment firm 888 Midas, which seeks to associate with and capitalize on select alternative investments in private equity, venture capital, and real estate (more here).

• NY Jets QB Tyrod Taylor Purchases Stake In Westchester Soccer Club. The New York Jets’ backup quarterback is the newest member of the Westchester Soccer Club’s ownership group. Westchester Soccer Club, or WSC for short, is joining the USL League One in 2025 (more here).

• MLS Cup-Winning Superstar Kellyn Acosta Invests In TOCA Football. TOCA Football, the world's leading tech-enabled soccer experiences company, announced a partnership with and investment from US Men's National Team midfielder and Major League Soccer Cup champion Kellyn Acosta (more here).

• Private Equity's Impact On Soccer Clubs: A Game Changer For Success. Soccer is known as the most popular sport worldwide. Traditionally, soccer clubs are owned by individuals, corporations, sponsorships, or a group of devoted fans. However, in the past few years, a new player has entered the field (more here).

• Overcoming Olympic Hurdles With Technology. As Paris counts down to the 2024 Olympics, Stephane Guez, co-founder and principal, Dalet, explains how technological innovation will deliver an engaging experience (more here).

• Video Game Football Manager Finally Licenses The Premier League. Football Manager will feature the fully licensed Premier League. Developer Sports Interactive has announced the Premier League will be licensed in Football Manager 2025 on the game’s website. This means the game will feature ”official logos, kits, and player photos”, and all 20 teams from the league are included (more here).

• Inside The Money Behind The World’s Highest-Paid Golfers. The world’s highest-paid golfers didn’t set a record in 2024, but putting for dough still pays quite well. The 10 top-earning players in the sport pulled in an estimated $678 million before taxes and agents’ fees, a 10% drop from last year’s mark of $752 million (more here).

• Saudi Arabia’s Next Billion-Dollar Sports Play: A Boxing Takeover. Saudi Arabia’s giant sovereign wealth vehicle, the Public Investment Fund, would finance the project. The fund is holding final negotiations about dispersing the initial investment — said to be as much as $2B — that the plan would require, according to the two people involved in the planning. Under the Saudi proposal, about 200 of the top men’s boxers in the world would be signed and then divided into 12 weight classes in what would amount to a global boxing league (more here).