Sports Business

Kroenke’s Arsenal buyout is a game of two halves

7 August 2018

The U.S. mogul is buying out shareholders of the London soccer club, with the help of a $721 mln Deutsche Bank loan. By borrowing the funds himself, Kroenke avoids burdening the underperforming team’s finances. But once he has control, he may still leverage it up to pay dividends.

World Cup win partially vindicates transfer market

16 July 2018

The French players who lifted the trophy had the highest value of any team in the soccer jamboree. Other expensive stars fell short, and hard-to-quantify factors played a big role, as finalists Croatia showed. In a hyper-financial sport, though, prices offer a guide to success.

Hadas: World Cup reveals competitive market secret

11 July 2018

The intense rivalry of the soccer championship is built on a cooperative foundation of shared rules and desires. Markets for products display similar superficial fights and deep common roots. Like sport, business competition also tends to become lopsided without careful controls.

Elliott may beat Juventus in returns shoot-out

11 July 2018

Paul Singer’s hedge fund has taken control of Italian soccer team AC Milan, while rival Juventus has bought goal machine Cristiano Ronaldo for 100 mln euros. Neither looks an easy financial score. But Elliott’s bargain price and Milan’s scope to improve combine for better odds.

Chinese sportswear may be hard turf to defend

11 July 2018

As Nike and Adidas duke it out at the World Cup in Russia, a bigger matchup looms. China’s market for sneakers and kit is growing quickly, and local rivals like $14 bln ANTA have had a good run. Younger and richer consumers, though, could start giving foreign brands an advantage.

World Cup Soccernomics

29 June 2018

A Breakingviews calculator predicted 14 of the 16 teams that made the soccer tournament’s knockout stage. But the analysis of player values, home support and participation did not foresee defending champion Germany’s early exit. The data now points to Brazil lifting the trophy.

Winner’s curse defeats numbers game at World Cup

29 June 2018

A Breakingviews calculator predicted 14 of the 16 teams that made the soccer tournament’s knockout stage. But the analysis of player values, home support and participation did not foresee defending champion Germany’s early exit. The data now points to Brazil lifting the trophy.

AC Milan’s UEFA loss is Elliott’s gain

28 June 2018

The Italian soccer club has been excluded from next year’s Europa League given doubts over its finances. The ban likely curbs its struggling Chinese owners’ ability to resell it. But it boosts the chances that creditor Elliott ends up taking on the team at a rock-bottom price.

European TV ends self-destructive soccer splurge

26 June 2018

The financial balance of power is shifting from clubs to groups like Sky, Telefonica and Canal Plus. The sport gets less money. But halting rights inflation gives telecom companies cash to invest in mobile networks while media groups can better compete with Netflix and Amazon.

Viewsroom: Disney, Comcast go from zero to berserk

21 June 2018

The Magic Kingdom and the cable company are driving up the price for parts of Twenty-First Century Fox in a global M&A battle that throws financial logic out the window. But does it make sense strategically? Plus: India’s cricket league takes a few pages from the NFL playbook.

FIFA’s $25 bln backers could end up on losing team

14 June 2018

Soccer’s governing body may tap investors like SoftBank to fund two new tournaments. They’d have to be almost as lucrative as the World Cup before the backers see a return. Like SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son’s other bets, it hinges on creative thinking and generous assumptions.

India Insight: IPL bats for global sports crown

11 June 2018

More people may have tuned in for the final of the 11th season of the Indian cricket league than the NFL’s Super Bowl. Salaries are starting to rival English soccer’s Premier League, and advertising dollars are rising fast too. It’s a stunning Indian growth story with room to run.

Amazon’s softly-softly UK soccer move is smart

7 June 2018

The e-commerce group made its first foray into UK football rights. But it won’t screen as many games as Sky and BT. The restraint means the group run by Jeff Bezos should easily break even, and suggests it’s more interested in scoring tactical goals than tackling rivals head-on.

Viewsroom: Who will win the World Cup?

31 May 2018

Germany may not be the bookies’ clear favorite to lift the trophy. But a data dive into player values, population and other factors predicts the team will emerge victorious. Meanwhile, Italy stages an economic and political comic opera. Plus: Ant Financial’s $10 bln kitty.

Vivendi’s soccer loss may be winning tactic

30 May 2018

Chinese-owned Mediapro beat the media conglomerate’s pay-TV group Canal Plus in a 1.2 bln euro auction for rights to show France’s top matches. The winner is taking a gamble since the value of those rights leapt 60 percent. Vivendi avoided overpaying and can withstand the loss.

World Cup Soccernomics

29 May 2018

Who will lift soccer’s ultimate trophy in Russia this summer? Breakingviews ranked the 32 contenders according to player values, population, home support, and participation in the sport. Put them all together, and Germany is best placed to successfully defend its crown.

Numbers add up to Germany retaining World Cup

29 May 2018

Who will lift soccer’s ultimate trophy in Russia this summer? Breakingviews ranked the 32 contenders according to player values, population, home support, and participation in the sport. Put them all together, and Germany is best placed to successfully defend its crown.

Football is imperfect hedge for hedge fund mogul

24 May 2018

Appaloosa’s David Tepper brings a winning attitude to Carolinas' Panthers, which he’s buying for $2.3 bln. America’s biggest sport is all about active management and performance - a welcome break from the pressures squeezing hedge funds. But data geeks are targeting the NFL too.

Paddy Power turns M&A into a fantasy sport

23 May 2018

The Dublin-based group is merging its U.S. assets with fantasy-sports business FanDuel. If a recent Supreme Court ruling leads to nationwide legal sports betting, loss-making FanDuel’s users could become valuable punters. The catch is that payback could be a while in coming.

WWE is a leading contender for content champion

22 May 2018

Vince McMahon’s wrestling kingdom may be close to inking a deal with Fox for its popular "SmackDown." The agreement would bring more than $1 bln for the rights to broadcast the program, much more than NBC has been shelling out. WWE deserves a champion’s belt for savvy partnerships.