Sports Business

Kanye West blunder puts Adidas in play

15 Mar 2023

The $28 bln sportswear maker is battling to restore its image after ditching a lucrative but dubious alliance with the musician. That requires CEO Bjorn Gulden to splurge on marketing, hitting dividends and margins. Adidas’s depressed valuation may soon catch the eye of rivals.

Buying WWE calls for intense financial contortions

3 Mar 2023

After making a dramatic return to the ring, founder Vince McMahon is eyeing a possible sale of his worldwide wrestling empire. Potential contenders for the $6.2 bln company include UFC owner Endeavor. The numbers and ownership structure, however, make a deal hard to stack up.

Soccer’s new M&A binge will mostly benefit players

17 Feb 2023

Qatari investors are planning a $6 bln Man United offer, according to Bloomberg, while billionaire Jahm Najafi may swoop on Tottenham. Clubs are losing more of their revenue to player wages and transfers. That will only get worse as more rich owners chase scarce sporting talent.

Debt is poor fix for Italian soccer’s malaise

8 Feb 2023

Having rejected private equity suitors, Italy’s top football league may turn to Wall Street banks to borrow up to 1 bln euros. The cash may give Serie A’s ailing TV rights business extra time. But without a governance shake-up, gorging on debt would extend its losing streak.

Capital Calls: Cryptocurrency, Chelsea FC

1 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: Britain delivers a blow to digital assets by aiming to regulate them the same way as traditional ones, while the UK soccer team’s new owner Todd Boehly splashes the cash.

YouTube runs risky new play to capitalize on NFL

9 Jan 2023

Alphabet’s video service is paying some $14 bln over seven years to let fans watch nearly any game they want. The pricey Sunday Ticket package has been diluted, however. It would take 60% subscriber growth to break even, but user-generated clips give the deal a sporting chance.

Fitness firms’ regime: lots of brands, few assets

6 Jan 2023

Gym chains from boutiques like Barry’s to the no-frills Planet Fitness are reinventing how people get and stay in shape. Yet as the $100 bln fitness business faces competition, the fight for dollars has become much more bruising. The dominant firms are diversified and nimble.

Soccer giants’ new owners may get tiny returns

30 Dec 2022

Manchester United, Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain are up for sale, either in part or in full. A near $3.7 bln price tag each seems possible, banking the sellers a tidy return. Yet slowing TV rights deals and spiralling player wages mean the buyers will probably fare worse.

Female fans will fuel Formula One in 2023

23 Dec 2022

Liberty Media’s testosterone-powered franchise is ready to shift gear. A docuseries following its drivers was among Netflix’s best-watched shows and lured more women to the racing stands. Forget Lewis Hamilton: finding a Louise Hamilton could rev up that trend and boost revenue.

Linchpins of excess inflate NBA’s $4 bln deal

21 Dec 2022

The Phoenix Suns sale represents a giant 160% bounce on its valuation last year. Buyer Mat Ishbia is paying with a fortune built on U.S. mortgages and the SPAC craze. A rivalry with another billionaire adds ego to the bloated mix of sports, housing and financial engineering.

Qatar has got what it wanted from the World Cup

15 Dec 2022

The Gulf state has taken more flak than it would have done had it not staged the soccer tournament, which ends on Sunday. Yet in this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how Qatar’s largely successful event also aids a strategy to make itself globally visible.

Adidas has sneaker each side of ESG turf war

15 Dec 2022

The $24 bln group is probing claims it ignored inappropriate behaviour by Kanye West. Adidas is big in both Europe and the U.S., where investors differ on the “E” of environmental, social and governance issues. It may soon discover how much they diverge on “S” ones, too.

Juventus drama calls for an Exor exit strategy

29 Nov 2022

Chair Andrea Agnelli and the rest of the soccer club’s board quit amid an accounting scandal. For top investor Exor, controlled by the Agnelli clan, it’s a chance to rethink long-held ties to the loss-making team. After a cleanup, a 2.3 bln euro price tag looks plausible.

Manchester United buyer will need love and money

23 Nov 2022

The Glazer family may sell the $2.5 bln soccer club after 17 years. It’s a good time to get out: valuations are rich and commercial revenue has held up well. A weak economy will challenge future growth, though. A new owner will have to be motivated by more than financial goals.

Liverpool could be a rare soccer M&A victory

8 Nov 2022

Club owners are often more interested in glory than profit. But Fenway Sports Group, which may sell the English team, could score a near 10 times uplift on its 300 mln pound purchase price. The timing is odd, but Liverpool may be an exception to the rule that soccer doesn’t pay.

HSBC and StanChart give Hong Kong sport trial run

4 Nov 2022

The Rugby Sevens, sponsored by the $103 bln lender led by Noel Quinn, is back, but as a shadow of its schmoozefest self. Meanwhile the bank Bill Winters sits atop is offering cash to encourage runners at the local marathon. Both show how the city faces a long slog back to normal.

Capital Calls: Chevron, Pickleball

29 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: The oil driller has sold its California headquarters building and is moving employees to Texas, while one of the fastest-growing U.S. games is beefing up its professional ambitions with an investment from basketball superstar LeBron James.

Disney’s big ESPN choice, Rio Tinto Mongolia drama

15 Sep 2022

Activist Dan Loeb backed away from his demand that the $203 bln media firm sell its sports network. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate whether it’s the right move. And the $94 bln mining giant’s attempt to secure copper supply may need heavier machinery.

Peloton pack leader has clear road to accelerate

13 Sep 2022

Founder John Foley has exited the $3 bln exercise company, leaving an overhaul in the hands of CEO Barry McCarthy. The subscription business is showing sparks and Peloton is on the path to making cash – again. McCarthy may yet fail, but at least it will be on his terms.

Gloves come off in India’s digital content wars

5 Sep 2022

Disney bid $3 bln for ICC cricket rights then sub-licensed part of the package to rival Zee, raising the stakes for the latter to clear competition concern over its planned merger with Sony India. The surprise pincer move puts Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance on the backfoot.