Berlusconi benefits from Chinese M&A own goal 1 Mar 2017 The $780 mln sale of AC Milan is the latest takeover to suffer as Middle Kingdom investors struggle to match dealmaking desires with reality. A Chinese consortium may further delay buying the soccer club, handing Italy's controversial businessman and ex-PM a much-needed boost.
Dimming Olympic flame casts long shadow on bloat 1 Mar 2017 Budapest saw the light and became the fourth city to drop its bid for the 2024 Summer Games, leaving only Los Angeles and Paris in the race. With the ranks of potential hosts getting exhausted, one good way to save the global athletic fest would be to cut events back to basics.
China’s soccer frenzy has early signs of fatigue 28 Feb 2017 A unit of LeEco has lost the rights to screen top Asian matches after missing a payment on a $100 mln-plus deal. The cash-strapped group has unique problems. Still, Chinese investors have poured record sums into the sport. Some others have probably over-stretched too.
Winning with sports on TV becomes tougher game 8 Feb 2017 Fox and Disney blamed the price of broadcasting basketball, baseball and football for weighing down profit. The NFL and other leagues also are on the hunt for new sources of revenue, in another sign of how the television business model is no longer the slam dunk it once was.
Super Bowl 51 may be defensive, political football 3 Feb 2017 The championship game on Sunday caps a tough year for the league. Though some 100 mln people are expected to tune in, TV ratings have been down all year. Add sponsors tapping into post-election rancor and a president with an old grudge against the NFL and it could be brutal.
Alibaba crafts an archetypal Davos deal 19 Jan 2017 The Chinese e-commerce giant unveiled a 12-year tie-up with the Olympics. This is more about status than financial returns. The blend of Chinese ambition, tech optimism and deal-doing among international elites is gold-standard Davos.
Russian sanctions will shrivel to soccer boycotts 23 Dec 2016 Pro-Kremlin leaders in Europe and the U.S. plus a rising oil price will embolden Vladimir Putin in 2017. That could lead to a rethink on sanctions and a soft response to Baltic sabre-rattling. Western protests will be limited to threatening boycotts of the 2018 World Cup.
Chess: a 1,500-year-old startup that doesn’t scale 2 Dec 2016 A fresh push to popularize the game at this year's championship between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin faltered. Pay-TV won't woo fans who can watch board movements for free and broadcasts are too technical for novices. Poor governance and few sponsors are hindrances, too.
MBK takes a $1.3 bln wide swing at golf in Japan 30 Nov 2016 The South Korean buyout firm has bid for golf-course operator Accordia. This business was a good post-bubble investment for Goldman Sachs, and then a disappointing one for public investors. A full price now makes it hard to see MBK teeing up a high return.
Och-Ziff turns paper-shuffling into winter sport 4 Nov 2016 The hedge fund's property arm and EPR are paying a Florida REIT $830 mln for 15 ski resorts. The deal has plenty of twists and turns, like EPR giving Och-Ziff a mortgage to fund part of the transaction. Long-term leases, though, mean the new owners can do little but groom the slopes.
Bear-market patience helps Cubs break the drought 3 Nov 2016 Chicago's lovable baseball losers won the World Series for the first time since 1908. Owner Tom Ricketts bought the team for $900 mln in 2009, spent heavily when the franchise was scraping bottom, and probably tripled his money. It's a story with lessons for other investors.
William Hill’s second fold raises the ante 18 Oct 2016 The $3.3 bln UK bookmaker called off a merger with Canada's Amaya after activist fund Parvus objected. That follows the decision to spurn a takeover bid from rivals 888 and Rank. With deal partners falling, revenue shrinking and no CEO, William Hill is playing a bad hand alone.
TV sports ratings drop may be more than a fumble 6 Oct 2016 Americans showed less interest in watching tennis and the Olympics this summer. Now viewership of the nation's most popular game, football, is down 11 pct, putting $3 bln of ad revenue at risk. As Twitter and others offer live sports, networks like NBC are facing a tough battle.
Bass Pro leaves the bank, takes the taxidermy 3 Oct 2016 The private outfitter is buying rival Cabela's for $5.5 billion, a 40 pct premium. Cabela's is a bank in camouflage - most profit comes from a credit-card business that'll be hived off to Capital One. Avoiding financial entanglements should make the deal easier to manage.
Nike laces up its hurdling spikes 28 Sep 2016 The $90 bln sportswear maker is experiencing a slowdown in orders for sneakers and other gear. Margins also are contracting as challengers like Adidas become fleeter with trendier shoes and apparel. To achieve its lofty sales goal, Nike will have to kick into a higher gear.
Liberty’s $8 bln F1 deal calls for a team effort 8 Sep 2016 Motor racing is a sport of individuals, but the U.S. media company needs help to justify paying 17 times EBITDA for Formula One. Plans for U.S. growth will hinge on incentivising teams to work harder. Seller CVC, meanwhile, is left holding a large equity stake but no control.
Sports Direct gets image overhaul half right 6 Sep 2016 The retailer released a harsh report about working conditions before its AGM and announced a corporate governance review. The trouble is both will have been done by its own legal advisers. To really change investors' minds, owner Mike Ashley needs a more independent stock take.
Britain’s haul: 27 gold medals and a wooden spoon 22 Aug 2016 China underwhelmed in the Olympic medals table, while the tiny UK excelled. That’s a poor guide to more important competitions. Though Britain still has soft power, its value as a role model is on the wane. China no longer needs gold medals to secure its place on the podium.
NBC’s gravity-defying Rio gymnastics may fall flat 12 Aug 2016 The network has reaped $1.2 bln from Olympics ads, a fifth more than its London take. But 9 pct fewer Americans are tuning in due to uninspiring coverage and too many commercials. It'll prompt advertisers to strike a hard bargain in future games, unless NBC devises a new routine.
Disney deal finally puts ESPN on offense 9 Aug 2016 A year after sparking concerns about its sports network losing subscribers, the media conglomerate is buying a one-third stake in Major League Baseball's streaming technology firm for $1 bln. That will take ESPN direct to consumers and give Disney a valuable step into the future.