Former Turner President David Levy told Sportico that he has joined Arctos Partners, a private equity firm that invests in professional sports, as a senior adviser.
Arctos is led by former Madison Square Garden Chief Executive Officer Doc O’Connor and Ian Charles, a longtime private equity investor.
Levy holds a similar role with the Raine Group, an investment bank that specializes in technology, media and telecommunication. There, he will help the firm to identify investment opportunities.
Arctos is focused on taking passive, minority stakes in professional sports franchises, which have skyrocketed in value over the past decade.
Sports bankers say the COVID-19-forced shutdown of sports likely will result in a flurry of limited partners, or LPs, seeking to sell their stakes, most of which don’t have a say in franchise governance.
Sportico reported last month that the ownership group of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs was selling a minority stake in the club.
Minority stakes usually sell at a discount of anywhere between 10% to 25% of the overall franchise value.
Levy spent about three decades at Time Warner, where he ran the company’s U.S. portfolio of networks, ad sales and distribution. He also spearheaded the company’s sports portfolio, which includes the NBA, PGA, MLB and NCAA.
Levy stepped down as CEO of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets in November after just two months on the job.
