On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including two recent minority team stake sales, and the U.S. Open, which concluded over the weekend in New York City.
Arctos Sports Partners reached an agreement to buy 17% of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, in a deal that values the franchise at roughly $1.8 billion. It is one of the biggest private equity investments into an NBA franchise since the league changed its ownership rules to allow for institutional money. The equity came from existing minority partners, and controlling owner Vivek Ranadive also bought more shares as part of the transaction.
In a separate deal, rapper Yo Gotti bought a small stake, a little more than 1%, in D.C. United in a deal that values the MLS club at $730 million. The deal continues two simultaneous trends for the league: 1) celebrity investors, and 2) mushrooming valuations.
The hosts also discuss the U.S. Open, which lacked star power from the start but ended up with compelling stories on both the men’s and women’s sides. Britain’s 18-year-old Emma Raducanu won her first Grand Slam just three months after playing in her first top-level WTA event. In men’s singles, Novak Djokovic fell in the final to Daniil Medvedev, ending his hopes of completing a rare single-year Grand Slam.
Lastly, the hosts talk about the start of the NFL season, and some league media deals that are still outstanding.
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