It appears that more and more National Basketball Association players are getting into the venture funding game with the goal of taking. The NBA playoffs and finals competition had a total prize pool of $ million. It was a sold-out event that became one of the world's. 14 private equity players investing billions in sports, from NBA teams to Fanatics, as league media rights skyrocket and betting Oct 17, , AM. BETTING TIPSTERS HORSE RACING

Ares currently has about 20 sports-related investments, including deals with teams such as the San Diego Padres and McLaren Racing, leagues like the Professional Fighters League, and ancillary businesses surrounding sports like Rawlings, MLB's exclusive provider of baseballs. Jim Miller, partner and co-head of the US direct lending business at Ares, leads the firm's sports, media, and entertainment strategy, alongside Mark Affolter and Kort Schnabel. Miller told Insider that Ares views sports mainly as live unscripted content, a category that he thinks will only continue to grow as streaming, changing consumer behavior, and globalization increase demand for sports programming.

In some cases, Ares acts as a lender, as with Rugby Australia, the sport's national governing body in Australia. Ares mainly invests in North America, Europe, and Asia. Blackstone also considered investing in in Italy's soccer league Serie A, the Financial Times reported. Late last year, Blackstone's head of tactical, David Blitzer, told Bloomberg that more sports business deals were coming for the firm.

Blitzer is no stranger to the space, with stakes in several professional teams including the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils. The joint venture was the first fund approved by the league to invest in multiple NBA teams. But Dyal HomeCourt is still the "only institutional investor that can acquire a pool of minority stakes in an unlimited number of NBA franchises," Sportico reported.

Robert Sarver, the owner of the Suns, announced in September plans to sell the team after a league investigation revealed multiple counts of racial and gender-based workplace misconduct over his nearly two decades as team owner.

It is unclear whether Dyal HomeCourt will be affected by the sale. The firm declined Insider's request for comment on the matter. The Chernin Group The Chernin Group is a multi-stage investment firm that says it invests in companies that "define culture. In , Penn Entertainment bought one-third of Barstool.

It expanded its sports investments beyond motorsports with positions in other leagues and governing bodies around the world such as Spain's La Liga, France's Ligue de Football Professional , England's Premiership Rugby , and Volleyball World. The company's other investments in the industry include Bruin Capital , German-based betting company Tipico, and the Gujarat Titans, a cricket team in the Indian Premier League. Despite financial success, CVC has faced criticism for some of its deals.

It was heavily criticized for ruthlessly pursuing a return on investment when it ran Formula One. KKR While the New York-based PE shop may not have a direct stake in any professional teams, it does have a number of investments in supporting players. In a conversation with Insider earlier this year, KKR partner Ted Oberwager pointed to UFC as an example of "a really unique form of IP that's not replicable," something the firm looks for in investments.

KKR holds a minority stake in Flutter. Sports, a high school sports media company. That investment helped support PlayOn! The firm's sports and gaming investments are led by Oberwager, who previously told Insider that "sports will continue to be a focus for us. The cofounders parlayed what they knew about running sports teams into a platform for investing in teams, leagues, and other businesses within the sports ecosystem.

The firm, which has roughly six investments to date, looks for deals with significant ownership or influence over an organization, which sets it apart from some of the other players on this list that mainly pursue minority ownership. Many of MSP's deals hinge on the partners' relationships in the industry.

Providence Equity Partners. The firm exited the company in at a reported 4. Since then, its sports investments — past deals include Major League Soccer Media and collegiate sports marketing firm Learfield Sports — have largely focused on the commercial rights of sports teams and leagues, or companies that service the sports ecosystem.

One area where Providence will likely not be putting its money? Individual teams. The firm has since put money into every subsequent DraftKings raise. Raine helped introduce DraftKings to leagues and sports players across the spectrum, and then helped the company counter push back from state regulators who argued daily fantasy sports should be regulated like sports gambling.

Ten years later, DraftKings , which is now publicly traded, is poised for a big deal with ESPN and helped establish a new sector. Of course, Ravitch has a bird's eye view of the playing field. Ravitch told Insider that a number of team owners are invested in the company's funds, as well.

Ravitch has been involved in the sale of some 75 sports teams, from Japanese baseball to Indian cricket to European soccer teams, over the years. The firm, founded in with a growth equity focus, has been very active of late. When the league approved Arctos, they capped it at five teams. Both firms are, by league rule, siloed from any sensitive player data. The NBA also has an economic relationship with Dyal. It receives a management fee from the investment firm — which is a percentage of the investments in the fund Dyal raises — and a portion of the incentive allocations the fund brings in, according to SEC filings.

When Dyal was cleared, it set out to find franchises it could put money into, setting a price for each and sending it out to see if anyone would bite. It bought pieces of three teams over the past year, buying off shares of the Kings and Suns — between 5 and 10 percent in each one — and a roughly 6 percent stake in the Hawks in December. Each transaction allows Dyal to prepare for the next one, giving more inputs and setting a valuation so when the next minority owner of a team wants out, they can be prepared to make an offer.

That, Dyal executives believe, will give the company a chance to roll up assets. After reaching out to owners across the league, Dyal executives struck a relationship with Robert Sarver, who was on the finance committee. With some members of the Suns ownership group seeking immediate liquidity, Dyal was able to take slices from several people.

The inclusion of institutional investors has also allowed the NBA to curb the amount of minority stakeholders in each team and clean up ownership structures around the league, which cuts down on headaches. A team owner said he prefers to deal with fewer minority shareholders, all with no rights afforded them. Private equity came in and bought out small ownership stakes and consolidated them under one banner. While the Dyal HomeCourt fund is one of many arms of Blue Owl, Arctos started in with the specific intent to invest in sports franchises around the world.

Charles had been interested in professional sports equity for more than a decade, but he only finally saw the chance to execute a business there once the NBA opened itself up in While the company is limited to buying into five NBA teams, Charles said each fund it raises should allow it to invest in 15 to 20 more professional sports franchises.

It has positioned itself as a partner to the franchise owners it invests alongside, offering capital if they need it to build an arena, buy up adjacent real estate or even to help buy a team in another market. The company, Charles said, offers action plans to owners on new sectors like sports betting based on their experience with other teams they are invested in.

We have a long horizon. We have tremendous conviction in this sector. We think we can help drive incremental revenue and value over time if the owner wants our help. There is a scarcity to NBA team ownership, and buying into one team allows a firm to buy into the league, as well. Team valuations have outperformed major stock indices over the past 20 years.

Buying into teams allows institutional investors to have money in a sector uncorrelated to their other investments. There seems little doubt from these investors that the value of NBA franchises will continue to grow.

That may hasten the need for more private equity to get into the NBA marketplace. Sixth Street has already taken 20 percent of the Spurs. But if franchise values keep growing, then even small shares of a team will be too expensive for individuals to buy in return for little day-to-day payoff.

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