Sports Business

Knicks owners flirt with Humpty-Dumpty capitalism

13 May 2021

Shares of Madison Square Garden and its sister sports networks took a beating as the family controlling them plans to smush them back together. Returning to a conglomerate structure may benefit the empire-building Dolans, if not shareholders. Entrenched ownership has its price.

Capital Calls: Amazon EU tax win, Scooter SPAC

12 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: Jeff Bezos’s e-commerce giant wins a victory over the European Union, but the battle has already moved on; Bird’s $2.3 billion price tag is relatively high but less pie-in-the-sky than some recent deals.

Soccer’s U.S. owners stuck relying on golden goal

29 April 2021

The aborted Super League was a way for Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal’s American proprietors to control player wages. They now lack a clear alternative for boosting earnings. To sell out profitably, they’ll have to find buyers more focused on glory than the bottom line.

Viewsroom: The Super League’s short, unhappy life

22 April 2021

The richest European soccer clubs, including Juventus and Real Madrid, swiftly aborted plans to create a breakaway competition. But as Liam Proud and Peter Thal Larsen explain, the financial appeal of a U.S.-style sporting cartel remains irresistible. Plus, Huarong’s woes.

Anta bets Chinese shopping nationalism won’t last

22 April 2021

The controlling shareholder of the sportswear company will pocket $1.5 bln from a 30% share rally after consumers threatened boycotts of Western brands critical of Beijing’s Xinjiang policy. It’s smart timing by struggling Anta; patriotic outrage is a fickle sales driver.

Soccer’s Super League zombie will rise before long

21 April 2021

The breakaway competition is on life support after six English teams pulled out. Yet the financial logic of a U.S.-style sporting cartel remains irresistible for the owners of clubs like Real Madrid and Manchester United. Barring a regulatory crackdown, the idea will return.

Soccer Super League plan starts one goal down

19 April 2021

There’s financial logic to the JPMorgan-backed breakaway of 12 clubs including $3 bln Manchester United. But unlike past soccer upheavals, the pan-European competition would supplement rather than replace existing revenue. That gives its many opponents strong bargaining power.

Capital Calls: Elon Musk, LeBron James

1 April 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Endeavor, Ari Emanuel’s entertainment group, is hoping the Tesla boss’s stardust will help a second attempt at an IPO; the basketball star’s stake in the Red Sox is a foil to Steve Cohen’s Mets deal.

IPO laggards pay price for predecessors’ chutzpah

30 March 2021

Miner GV Gold, defence firm Leonardo DRS and soccer team Club Brugge shelved their listings. Investors have been stung by the poor performance of a wave of richly valued tech floats earlier this year. With the pipeline still full, hopeful issuers will now have to offer bargains.

Capital Calls: Elon Musk, AstraZeneca

15 March 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The electric-vehicle maker’s jocular new title of “Technoking of Tesla” tests the theory that deeds matter more than words; fears over the drugmaker’s vaccine risk further delaying the re-opening of Europe’s economy.

Capital Calls: McKinsey, Celebrity SPACs

10 March 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: McKinsey’s new boss isn’t new enough; the SEC tells investors to be careful of celebrities bearing SPACs.

Japan Inc faces Olympic sexism trial

24 February 2021

A woman replaced the games’ boss after chauvinist comments. His attitude is common; women make up 13% of directors at large listed companies. Tokyo’s bourse will push for better representation on its new “Prime Market”, but a thin pipeline of female managers risks tokenism.

Capital Calls: Super Bowl, Poison pills, Experian

8 February 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: America’s game doesn’t benefit from scarcity value; Cubic’s poison pill serves a purpose; And Brazil’s cyberattack has a price for Experian.

Corona Capital: Peloton, Star SPAC, Italian bank

5 February 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Peloton needs to keep pedaling faster to keep up its subscriber pace; baseball’s Alex Rodriguez is jumping in the special purpose acquisition company game; and Intesa Sanpaolo makes good on M&A.

Australia commits unforced tennis error

22 January 2021

Foreign players are flying in for the Grand Slam tournament even as strict pandemic policies have left citizens struggling to get home. Stars like Novak Djokovic complaining about quarantine don’t help. Flimsy economic considerations may be distorting risk assessments.

Corona Capital: Bank of America, Halliburton, NBA

19 January 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Bank of America’s animalistic analogies; Halliburton sees a recovery that can’t come soon enough; The New York Knicks’ valuation has its top spot to lose.

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.