Sports Business

Corona Capital: Inflation, Poshmark

14 January 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Breakingviews panel predicts the end of the free-money era; and Poshmark’s IPO looks overdressed.

Corona Capital: KKR/music, IMF

11 January 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Private equity giant KKR buys a stake in hip OneRepublic music royalties; and the International Monetary Fund half-heartedly bumps up its target lending cushion.

European soccer will try on American-style pay cap

24 December 2020

Empty stadia wiped out nearly $4 bln in sales, pushing even rich clubs like Manchester United and Barcelona into the red. A partial return for fans barely eases the pain. To save itself, the beautiful game will have to import the U.S. National Football League’s limit on salaries.

Viewsroom: Predictions and prescriptions (Part 1)

23 December 2020

Governments will become activist investors; U.S. airlines will merge; data centres will be the new ESG target; energy giants to consider renewable spinoffs; Tesla will buy Daimler; European soccer gets more American and more. Rob Cox, Peter Thal Larsen and Lauren Silva weigh in.

Corona Capital: Tesla’s Apple snub

23 December 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Tesla boss Elon Musk asked to meet with Apple back in the day, and got rebuffed. Musk’s company has been the better investment recently, especially during the Covid-19 period. That doesn’t mean Tim Cook missed out.

Corona Capital: NFL’s ad fumble

14 December 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: This year fewer people are watching the National Football League, and that means broadcasters like Comcast’s NBC are lowering prices for commercials or offering free ad space.

Corona Capital: Record Dow, Basketball, GoCompare

25 November 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Vaccine optimism shunts the blue-chip Dow Jones index through 30,000; U.S. college basketball gets back on the court; and UK publisher Future snaps up the bargain-hunting website.

Corona Capital: Utah Jazz, Comcast, Kraft

29 October 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Utah Jazz’s owners sign off with a respectable return; Comcast shoots the light out on broadband; and Kraft rides the stay-at-home wave.

Corona Capital: Drugmaker’s pick-me-up, Golf M&A

28 October 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Drugmaker GSK sees a recovery in vaccinations against old-school ailments; meanwhile Covid-19 turns out to be a handy driver when it comes to golf-related dealmaking.

Corona Capital: U.S. tests, UK loans, Man U groans

21 October 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Abbott Laboratories has a bumper third quarter; UK banks look at a workaround for their Covid-19 loan problem; and Manchester United reveals a predictably ropey set of annual results.

Elite Euro-soccer league is an ill-timed challenge

21 October 2020

JPMorgan may lend $6 bln to launch a new top-tier competition, Sky News said. Frequent mega-matches like Liverpool vs. Barcelona could boost revenue, yet it’s unclear who’d buy the pricier broadcast rights. And discarding virus-hit smaller clubs would have a political cost.

Moneyball SPAC could turn bats and balls into gold

13 October 2020

The Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC owner may go public through a blank check company co-chaired by data-driven baseball executive Billy Beane. Based on UK valuations, the deal is on steroids. But Beane may have found public market arbitrage to help him roll up sports leagues.

Corona Capital: Fiscal stimulus, Fitness riches

6 October 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Central bankers including the Federal Reserve’s Jerome Powell urge more fiscal help as Covid-19 cases rise again; and the owner of NordicTrack treadmills raises cash at a $7 billion-plus valuation.

Wall Street can’t keep its finger off the trigger

5 October 2020

Credit Suisse and JPMorgan led the IPO of Academy Sports, a retailer of assault-style rifles that supplied the perpetrator of a 2017 mass shooting. Like Academy owner KKR, their part in America’s gun violence problem is relatively small. Still, it’s one they have taken willingly.

Viewsroom: Disastrous debate, Italian soccer deal

1 October 2020

The first of the U.S. presidential debates was shambolic, with almost no substance on economic policy for investors or markets to sink their teeth into. On a lighter front, though, Italy’s Serie A soccer league has a chance to regain its glory. Breakingviews columnists discuss.

Italy’s top soccer league needs a kick in the culo

30 September 2020

Once a global champion, Serie A now trails rivals in Europe on revenue and visibility. A 1.6 bln euro deal by sports-investing veteran CVC seeks to double sales by rebooting an outdated media rights system. Stronger finances would benefit clubs and make for better football.

Corona Capital: Newspaper rivals, College football

17 September 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: the Wall Street Journal hits up the New York Times’ printing presses; U.S. college football’s Big Ten makes a comeback.

Steve Cohen’s Mets win could rewrite comeback tale

15 September 2020

The hedge fund manager has agreed to buy the underachieving sluggers at a $2.5 billion valuation, a U.S. sports-team record. It tops off his rocky return to prominence after his former firm was investigated for insider trading. Outperforming in the ballpark may be an easier task.

Corona Capital: NBA’s Covid test

17 August 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The NBA pays it forward and back with its cheap Covid-19 test.

American college football needs to play long game

10 August 2020

Collegiate athletes recently penned a letter arguing for better safety, healthcare and cash compensation. Players have increasingly been using their star power to pressure coaches and administrators. But the time for tweaks is over – a total NCAA revamp is long overdue.