🔊 $3.25B Acquisition 🤯

📰 TOP STORY
TKO Acquires Sports Companies From Parent Company Endeavor

• Recently it was announced that TKO, a premium sports & entertainment company that comprises UFC and WWE, acquired three sports-related assets from its parent company Endeavor for $3.25B including:

• On Location
• Professional Bull Riders
• IMG

Here’s a brief breakdown of the companies acquired:

➊ PBR is the world’s largest bull riding league and puts on more than 200 events annually for more than 1M fans

➋ On Location provides luxury hospitality for major sporting events including the Super Bowl, the Ryder Cup, March Madness, the FIFA World Cup, and the Olympics

➌ IMG packages and sells media rights and brand partnerships, providing strategic consultancy on the biggest TV deals for the NFL, English Premier League, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, UFC, WWE and PBR

Why is this important?

TKO is already a monster business.

They do over $1B in annual revenue and manage over $10B in assets.

This acquisition will help power the growth of TKO's revenue streams and expand its already strong sports ecosystem across verticals such as:

• Media rights
• Live events
• Ticket sales
• Premium experiences
• Brand partnerships
• Site fees

As sports becomes more of an “asset class,” we will begin to see many leagues, agencies, and large entertainment brands fall under bigger umbrellas. Major conglomerates are looking to scoop up companies to design and build their own “sports ecosystems," which will potentially create mega monopolies. The long-term effects and impact of this on the industry are up for debate… (more here).

💰 MONEY MOVES 
Ronaldo Backs London-Based Health Company

• Cristiano Ronaldo Invests In Bioniq. Bioniq, a biotech company that provides personalized supplement formulas based on individual blood test results and health questionnaires announced that global soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo has made a significant investment in the company, bringing its total valuation to $82M. Ronaldo has been a user of the company’s supplements since 2022, and will not only hold a stake in the company but will also contribute to product innovation (more here).

• Fungiball Raises €2.2M In Pre-Seed Funding. Fungiball, a web3 fantasy tennis game, has raised €2.2M in pre-seed funding from a combination of private angels including Adrien Dassault and Stephan Altmuller, with additional support from Cliff Capital and BPI France. The funds will be used to grow the tech team to scale the platform and enhance user experience, develop new features, including free-to-play modes and fiat payment options, and kick off Fungiball’s international expansion, starting with focusing on North America (more here).

• Women’s National Football Conference Raises $1M. The Women's National Football Conference, a semi-pro full-contact women's football league has closed on a $1M funding round. This is the most money raised by the semi-pro women's league. The seed round was led by ProPharma CEO Dawn Sherman, who also owns the WNFC's Jersey Shore Football Team. Commissioner Odessa Jenkins is the first black woman pro sports league founder to raise $1M and says the new capital will be allocated across several avenues including sales operations, marketing, and overall league infrastructure (more here).

• Jeff Vinik Is Selling His Stake In The Tampa Bay Lightning. Former hedge fund manager Jeff Vinik has sold his ownership stake in the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning to a group of investors led by Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz. Vinik will remain in control of the team and serve as the Lightning’s governor for the next three years. As part of the deal, sports-focused private equity firm Arctos will sell a portion of its stake in the Lightning. Arctos will maintain a minority stake (more here).

• Barca Innovation Hub Invests In Rimbarlat. Barça Innovation Hub (BIHUB) has become a shareholder in Rimbarlat, a company developing therapies to speed up muscular regeneration in acute injuries for elite sportsmen and women. As part of the agreement with BIHUB, the project will enter into a phase of clinical trials in the coming months. Financial terms were not disclosed (more here).

 🤝 PARTNERSHIPS
Is Crypto Making A Comeback With The NBA?

• Golden State Partners With Coinbase. Coinbase will become the official cryptocurrency platform and blockchain partner of the Warriors and Chase Center. Through the partnership, the Warriors and Coinbase will work together to introduce new and exciting ways for fans to engage with their favorite team. Fans can unlock access to exclusive on-chain experiences, limited-edition merchandise, and more throughout the season (more here).

• Players Health Partners With Youth Inc. Players Health, a leading provider of athlete safety and insurance solutions announced its partnership as a founding partner with Youth Inc., a content and commerce platform co-founded by NFL alum and Fox Sports broadcaster Greg Olsen. Youth Inc. will offer valuable education for athletes, parents, and coaches while promoting a culture of safety, risk management, and athlete well-being across all levels of play (more here).

• Texas Schools Pension Partners With Sports Investor Velocity Capital. Velocity Capital Management, a private equity firm with investment experience across the sports, media, and entertainment ecosystem announced a strategic partnership with the Texas Permanent School Fund Corporation. Texas PSF has made an anchor investment of $200M into Velocity’s flagship Opportunity Fund and has an agreement to negotiate acquiring a minority interest in the firm targeted to close in the fourth quarter (more here).

• Liverpool FC Partners With Google. Liverpool FC has joined forces with Google Pixel and The Powerhouse Project to launch Pixel FC Academy to help young women break into the football media and content creation industry. The Academy is a five-month program of workshops across every aspect of modern sports media, from broadcast punditry, production, and written press to creating viral social content (more here).

• Matchain Partners With Paris Saint-Germain. PSG, the most popular soccer club in Paris announced a partnership with Matchain, a leading blockchain platform specializing in AI and decentralized identity. This collaboration will run from 2024 to 2027, setting the stage for the fusion of blockchain technology and professional soccer. Matchain will integrate its decentralized identity (DID) and data sovereignty solutions to transform fan engagement and user data security. Furthermore, both companies intend to establish a Joint Innovation Studio driving the club’s Web3 innovation (more here).

🔊 ATHLETES & OTHER SPORTS NEWS
WNBA Players Are Demanding More

• WNBA Players Opt Out Of Current CBA After Historic Season. WNBA players have opted out of their current collective bargaining agreement and face the prospect of a work stoppage if they don't negotiate a new deal with the league by the end of the 2025 season. The elected members of the Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) announced Monday that players are seeking "a business model that reflects their true value, encompassing higher salaries, enhanced professional working conditions, expanded health benefits, and crucial investments needed for long-term growth” (more here).

• Four Major Brands Just Took ‘Athena Pledge’ To Invest In Women’s Sport. In a professional sports landscape where women get just 10% of sponsorship dollars, 15% of media coverage, and a fraction of broadcast rights fees compared to men’s sports, four major brands just made a public pledge to invest big in women’s sports. The Athena Pledge - a first-of-its-kind platform - has four founding members including AT&T, Capital One, Cisco, and Deloitte, who have united to advance strategic efforts around women’s sports (more here).

• The Most Valuable NBA Teams 2024. Forbes recently released the 2024 NBA team valuations. The Warriors are the top team for the third straight year, worth $8.8B which is twice the league average. The Knicks came in second at $7.5B and the Lakers are third at a $7.1B valuation. And with new media deals starting next season, those numbers could soon get much bigger (more here).

• Several Athletes & Entertainers Join The Texas Ranchers Ownership Group. The Texas Ranchers, a pickleball team in the Major League Pickleball league, announced new additions to its ownership group including Lil Wayne, Scottie Scheffler, Micah Parsons, Kendra Scott, Bijan Robinson, Zach Bryan, The Kid LAROI, Bobby Bones, Tim and Demi Tebow, Juju Smith-Schuster and former NFL player turned investor Terrence Murphy (more here).

• Several Elite Athletes Join LEAD's Locker Room Fund. LEAD, the global venture corporation shaping the future of sports and health announced that Harry Kane, Brooks Koepka, Brayden Schenn, and other elite athletes are amongst the first to have joined its Locker Room fund. Locker Room serves professional athletes interested in entrepreneurial pursuits and business ventures by presenting them with vetted opportunities to invest (more here).

• How Liberty Media Became One Of The World’s Most Valuable Sports Empires. As global lockdowns began in 2020, sports fans surged online and Liberty Media had a chance to realize Liberty Chairman John Malone’s vision. Since Liberty Media acquired F1 in 2017, the sport’s value has doubled from $8B (including debts) to around $17B in 2023 (more here).

• How These Football Veterans Created the First Officially Licensed NFL VR Game. Former D1 quarterback Troy Jones and former NFL wide receiver Andrew Hawkins break down how they brought their VR game "NFL Pro Era" to life (more here).

• Unrivaled Basketball League Reveals New Team Names. The new women’s league, founded by Breanna Stweart and Napheesa Collier, recently introduced the six basketball clubs that will make up the league thus far: the Laces, the Mist, the Phantom, the Lunar Owls, the Rose, and the Vinyl (more here).