Sports

Anta deal enters arena of extreme financial sports

13 December 2018

Instead of a straightforward acquisition, the Chinese company structured a $5.2 bln LBO of Finland’s Amer. Partners like Lululemon’s founder may help accelerate sales of workout apparel and Salomon skis, but hefty debt also implies a risky race for private equity-style returns.

Anta deal would be a marathon not a sprint

19 November 2018

Tencent may join the Chinese sportswear company and others in their $5.3 bln approach for Salomon owner Amer. The price, plus initial hits to the margin and dividend, worry shareholders. And yet if Anta could replicate what it did with Fila, the acquisition might pay off in time.

Casino M&A regulatory pushback worth the gamble

8 November 2018

More trouble at Wynn could make it a takeover target. MGM may place its chips on Caesars. Watchdogs take a hard line on casino deals. But with legalized sports betting and a drop in table gambling challenging the Las Vegas Strip, bulking up may be the safest way to beat the odds.

There’s method in Saudi’s Man Utd soccer madness

15 October 2018

The kingdom’s crown prince may back a tilt at the UK soccer club, reports the Sun. It sounds barmy, and a convenient distraction from the international storm over a journalist’s disappearance. Yet Saudi backing for a new elite club tournament means it could make financial sense.

The Dolans are better at spinoffs than coaching

9 October 2018

The family behind $7 bln Madison Square Garden is separating yet another business from its empire. This time, it’s cleaving off the NY Knicks and Rangers from the Rockettes. The sports teams may win no trophies, but the deal could bag up to a 33 pct bonus for shareholders.

Chinese $5 bln winter sports bid is hard to beat

11 September 2018

Fujian-based Anta has approached Finnish ski-wear maker Amer. The offer values the group at a hefty 17 times EBITDA. Anta’s need to fend off U.S. peers in its home turf suggests it will pay more than any rival. Still, the target’s share price suggests investors aren’t convinced.

Nike puts politically divisive spring in its step

4 September 2018

The U.S. brand is putting Colin Kaepernick, the first NFL player to kneel for the national anthem, in its revived “Just Do It” ads. Airlines, sports stores and pizza chains have wrestled with partisan issues. In the commoditized sneaker trade, it’s a risk worth taking.

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.

Review: The other side of Trumpismo

15 June 2018

Mexico and the U.S. share complex, ever-deeper ties that contradict Donald Trump’s hostile rhetoric, Andrew Selee writes in “Vanishing Frontiers.” Bicultural businesses, movies and even co-hosting soccer’s 2026 World Cup are better signposts to the future than nationalist rants.

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.