Axiom Partners’ Post

⚽A snapshot summary into the world of investment in football📈 Investing in professional sports teams, especially in football, is capturing the attention of investors seeking to diversify their portfolios and gain from the unique, and growing landscape that is the sports industry. I have looked into some examples of investment within football, summarising some of the most commonly seen in the game, offering some relevant modern case studies. 💼 Types of Investment: Publicly Traded Sports teams: Investors can buy shares in publicly traded sports teams using a brokerage account. This allows for fractional ownership and is accessible to nearly anyone with the financial means to invest. Private Equity and Institutional Investment: Involves significant capital, leading to minority or majority stakes. Corporate Ownership: Investing in parent companies owning sports teams. Minority Stakes and Ownership Groups: Options for those with substantial capital, common in smaller markets. Venture Capital: Part of broader financing deals, particularly in independent teams. Venture capitalists are profit driven, and will likely seek dividends as soon as possible from investments. 📊 Case Studies: Manchester City FC / City football group: Transformed by Abu Dhabi United Group's significant investment into the clubs infrastructure and playing staff, leading to on-field success and commercial growth. City Football Group: Silver Lake's strategic minority investment showcased in a 10% stake acquisition in CFG, in which owns multiple subsidiary clubs under a MCO model. Inter Milan: U.S. private equity's interest illustrated in Oaktree Capital's 31% stake acquisition. Evidencing a minority stake investment in football. Chelsea FC: Recently acquired by an American private equity fund/consortium lead by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in a £4.25 billion deal, spotlighting high-profile buyouts. Manchester United: Manchester United's shares are publicly traded on the New York stock exchange since being purchased by the Glazer family through a leveraged buyout and recently 25% minority stake in the club was purchased by INEOS. 🔍 Considerations for Investors: Financial Health: Scrutinize financial statements, especially income generation and debt levels. Market Dynamics: Understand broadcasting rights, merchandising, and fan engagement's impact. Regulatory Changes: Be aware of potential league regulations or broadcasting rights shifts. FFP and PSR have shown their teeth and investors will be considering this! On-Field Performance: While not directly correlated, it is known to influence brand value and revenue streams. (often merit based payment structures are used to some extent) Emotional Investment: Balance passion with financial viability assessment. ⚽💼 #SportsInvestment #FootballFinance #InvestmentInsights

“SPORT AS AN ASSET CLASS” When I first joined IMG in March 1992 to pursue a career in the business of sport, my Glaswegian father was not that happy. A talented accountant who left school at 17 and ran the local shipyard by 23, Norman had pursued a highly successful global career in business. For him, sport was a passion, but a commercial side-show.  Ironically, like many other top businessmen, he had lost money from a couple of sports investment where he had backed sporting friends. These type of decisions reflect the hit-and-miss historical investment model of sport: investing in your passion needs industry knowledge, the right team….and the right plan. During my time in sport, I have seen many great business execs make poor investment decisions. Over the last 30 years, sports investment has become an industry, led by many North American pioneer investors, including IMG’s founder Mark McCormack, alongside some incredible international PE & VC funds - and some high-net-worth investors.  Sport today is an asset class. Covid helped. It reminded us how much the planet loves and needs sport.  As an investment proposition, sport has several core verticals: Consumer, Content, Data, Education, Health, Real Estate, Rights and Technology.  At ONETOWATCH, we live and breathe sport as an asset class. We are en route to launching our first VC fund - The 1TW Sports Fund - in Q1 2024. We are also working with select partners offering a strategic advisory and investment service.   With a world class advisory team and a truly global network of partners, we aim to be one of the leading EMEAA sports investment specialists. If you are interested to know more or join us on the journey, reach out - or even better let’s connect at the Leaders in Sport Summit in London this week, the FII 7th Edition (Riyadh October 24-26) or Abu Dhabi Finance Week (November 27-30) #1TW #SPORTSINVESTMENT #PRESSPLAY  

What areas within the sports industry do you think will dominate in 2024?  Lyman Thai and I recently wrote an article on the Market for Sports and Sports Tech in 2024. As the M&A market navigated through quieter tides, the sports industry was a sector that continued to outperform. With institutional investors eyeing this field, giants like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs have made their move, setting up dedicated teams to champion sports-related investments. 2023: A Year to Remember in Sports Tech Last year, the sports tech landscape was nothing short of a record-breaker, amassing over $37 billion in M&A and financing activities. Specifically, M&A in sports tech peaked with $26.7 billion in deals, showcasing an almost tripled growth from the previous year. This surge underscores the increasing interest and confidence in the sector's potential. The Field in Focus: Diverse and Inclusive Deloitte's 2024 Sports Investment Outlook sheds light on fascinating trends and projections. Soccer led the charge with 52% of deal volume, and North American and European investors were at the forefront of this investment spree. The rising prominence of women’s sports, which accounted for 14% of the deal volume, underscores a more inclusive approach to sports investment. Looking Ahead: 2024 and Beyond Deloitte's 2024 Sports Investment Outlook suggests a trajectory towards market disruption. Sports such as cycling, sailing, and padel are on the radar for their growing appeal. Moreover, the trend toward minority investments might hint at a strategic approach to leveraging the escalating valuations in the premium sports assets arena. This evolving landscape presents a unique opportunity for stakeholders across the spectrum. As the sports industry continues to grow in value and diversity, the question isn’t if but how investors will navigate these emerging trends to maximize returns and foster sustainable growth. How do you see technology integration in sports evolving in 2024, and what impact will it have on investments and fan engagement? Comment your thoughts! Your opinions matter. #sportsinvestment #M&A #sportstech #sportssector #jpmorgan #goldmansachs #strategicinvestments #deloitteoutlook #2024trends #acquisitions #mergers #siliconvalleylaw #garage2global Foley & Lardner LLP, Natasha Allen, Brandee Diamond, Nicholas O'Keefe, Steve Millendorf, Jennifer Urban, André Thiollier, Eric Chow

There has to be a reason and it has to be bigger than money. #FounderMindset Last week, I combined work & passion in a trip to Melbourne to see one of my favourite sports teams from England, Newcastle United play another UK Premier League team, Tottenham Hotspur at the MCG. Whilst the tribal nature of the night was compelling - singing club songs and donning the team shirt, the actual match was very average. Most of the players didn't look too excited to play and certainly there was limited performance electricity on the pitch. Two big EPL teams coming to Australia will have commercial value way beyond the 78k crowd, merch, future TV revenues but even with the incremental cash, the teams need to know why they are there. They need purpose. For sports teams, it's easy in the sense that they want to win leagues and win the cups that matter. The same applies to start-ups & scale-up companies (unlike most larger corporations). Any chance of winning against the odds can almost always only come from a deeper purpose. Founders need to deeply care about their pursuit or otherwise the experience will be like an exhibition game of football. Unlikely to go down well with players or with fans. (I hope the women's game fared better.) The B’Old INtern #TheFounderMindset SXSW Sydney Alan Jones 🍇 Kirstin Hunter Bronwyn van der Merwe Fishburners

🚀 The Current Landscape of Sport M&A: A Review of 2023 and Thoughts for 2024 In today’s blog, we look into the world of Sports M&A, reflecting on 2023 and predicting what the future holds.   🔍 Key Insights:   📈 Robust Growth in 2023: Unpacking the resilience of the sports industry amidst a global M&A downturn, highlighted by 200 deals signifying diversity and vibrancy. 🚺 Women's Sports on the Rise: Analysing the surge in investments and their impact on valuations, signalling a new era of commercial significance. 🌍 Multi-Club Ownership Expansion: Exploring the rise of MCO structures and their strategic importance in both football and commercial terms. 🌟 High-Profile Investments: Discussing the influx of celebrity and athlete investments and their influence on sports marketing and engagement. 💰 Record-Breaking Deals: Delving into landmark acquisitions like Jim Ratcliffe's stake in Manchester United and their broader implications. 🔮 2024 Outlook: Forecasting trends in broadcast rights, global expansion, technological innovation, sports-gambling convergence, and the growth of niche sports. I look forward to your thoughts, comments, and insights on this evolving industry. Don't hesitate to share, comment, and engage in this discussion. #sportsbusiness #mergersandacquisitions #investmenttrends #globalsports #futureofsports

Investment in sports has surged in the past few years with sports becoming a distinct asset class. There were more than 200 M&A transactions in the sports sector globally in 2022. European football clubs have been subject to the most interest from private equity investment, however, other sports have been increasingly gaining more attention.   CT Group has recently conducted research amongst UK sports fans on their attitudes towards investment in their sport. The results show that if private investors demonstrate a genuine focus on grassroots participation, diversity, equity & inclusion within the sport, as well as financial sustainability, support for private investment in the sport increases. CT Group’s advisory and cutting-edge research practices provide strategic advice across a wide range of business sectors including sports. For more information, please visit ctgroup.com. Remo Nogarotto, Christopher Bruce, Jamie Parker #sports #privateequity #research #investingstrategy #sportsindustry #sportsinvesting

Today’s pro athletes are thinking harder about their financial futures post-sports, including building generational opportunities. “There's people actually competing in the locker room to save, and to find better opportunities, versus how many cars we drive,” Joe McLean of MAI Capital Management told Justin L. Mack in this flashback to Future Proof. #sports #wealthmanagement #financialadvisors

Overall, we expect to see increased investment activity fuelled by a variety of new industry entrants who are attracted to the prestige, and potentially compelling risk-adjusted returns, to be recognized from owning a sports asset.   #Deloitte #Sports industry

Aon congratulates Amer Sports, Inc. on the launch of its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. Amer Sports is a global group of iconic sports and outdoor brands, which include Arc’teryx, Salomon, Wilson, Atomic and Peak Performance. Elevating the world through sport – from courts to slopes, from cities to mountains, and everywhere in between – Amer Sports aims to inspire people to explore and experience the joy of sports and outdoor activities, and lead better, healthier lives. Antero Airo, Chief Executive Officer of Aon Finland and Aon’s Client Executive for Amer Sports, commented: “We’re delighted to have had the opportunity to act for Amer Sports, an Aon client for many years, on its return to the public market, fielding a team of Aon colleagues in Finland, London and Bermuda to structure and secure risk transfer solutions to support its NYSE listing. As a global firm, Aon thrives on helping clients access risk capital across multiple jurisdictions on cross-border transactions like this.” More about this from Amer Sports: https://aon.io/3uJXkPn #mergersandacquisitions #ipo

💡Great insights piece on how sports-led regeneration can align, and enhance, the objectives and outcomes of both public and private sector investment agendas. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dfj6Uvk7