January 18, 2022

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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

The Big 12 is discussing plans to split into two seven-team divisions. Before Oklahoma and Texas leave in 2025, the conference will likely have 14 teams when BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF join in 2023.

Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7B

Invision for Activision/Design: Alex Brooks

Microsoft announced plans Tuesday to acquire video game company Activision Blizzard in a $68.7 billion all-cash deal, making the tech giant the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue.

Pending regulatory approvals, Activision Blizzard’s “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft” games, among other big titles, will add [[link removed]] to Microsoft’s expanding gaming portfolio, which includes Xbox consoles and games like “Minecraft” and “Doom.”

Microsoft, which has a market cap of $2.3 trillion, is swooping in amid Activision Blizzard’s recent legal hurdles, including an SEC investigation [[link removed]].

In September, Activision agreed [[link removed]] to pay $18 million as part of a lawsuit settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over allegations of gender-based harassment.In November, a Wall Street Journal report [[link removed]] claimed CEO Bobby Kotick knew of sexual misconduct allegations in the workplace.On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported [[link removed]] that Activision disciplined or pushed out more than 80 employees in relation to the situation since July.

Activision Blizzard’s third-quarter revenue [[link removed]] jumped 5.9% year-over-year to $2.07 billion. The company’s shares rose almost 38% in premarket trading on Tuesday.

More Gaming Plans

Microsoft said it plans to bring Activision games into its Xbox Game Pass subscription service, which has 25 million subscribers — up 7 million from the start of 2021. Microsoft said the combined entity would have 30 internal game development studies.

As part of the announcement, Phil Spencer was promoted [[link removed]] from head of Xbox to CEO of Microsoft Gaming. Kotick will remain Activision’s CEO.

The deal is expected to close by July 2023.

FC Copenhagen Exploring Stadium, Properties Sale

FC Copenhagen/Design: Alex Brooks

One of Denmark’s top soccer teams could sell all of its real estate assets, including its stadium.

FC Copenhagen owner Parken Sport & Entertainment is exploring [[link removed]] a sale of its 38,065-seat Parken stadium, among other properties, with the intent of leasing it back.

The company valued its real estate portfolio at $208.3 million in November.

The team is also looking to sell four office buildings near its stadium and two water parks.Parken’s stock leapt around 10% on Tuesday following the news.

FC Copenhagen is part of Denmark’s top soccer league, the Danish Superliga, which participates in the UEFA Champions League. In June 2021, the league joined eight others in bundling its overseas media rights into a package expected [[link removed]] to secure $5 million to $20 million annually.

Parken Looking to Shift Gears

Parken earned $394.9 million in Q3 2021 revenue, a 102.3% year-over-year increase. The company may be righting the ship after a 35.1% revenue drop in 2020 led to a $209.1 million operating loss.

Parken’s $145.5 million in net income in the third quarter marked its first positive net income in 12 months, after losses of $33.7 million, $54.4 million, and $84 million the previous three quarters.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH KAULIG RACING

Sportsman, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist

Meet Matt Kaulig.

From starting LeafFilter in his basement, to establishing a winning race team, Kaulig has continually developed new ventures that flourish.

Starting with a Cup car sponsorship in 2014, Kaulig decided to build his own racing team from the ground up in 2016. Through their passion, commitment and competitiveness, Kaulig Racing [[link removed]] has fifteen wins, including his first NASCAR Cup series win at Indy in 2021.

Along with his reputation of being a successful entrepreneur, Kaulig has emerged as a mega-donor and philanthropist. Much of Kaulig’s philanthropic work is focused on the well-being and health of children. Kaulig Giving [[link removed]] has given to over 150 501c3 organizations.

Learn more about Matt Kaulig and his network of brands [[link removed]].

Animoca Brands Raises $360M, Valued at $5.4B

Animoca Brands/Design: Alex Brooks

Software and venture firm Animoca Brands has raised $360 million in new funding, valuing the investor in Fan Controlled Football and NBA Top Shot at $5.4 billion.

The round, led by Liberty City Ventures, will provide the Hong Kong-based company with fresh capital to build an open metaverse, fund strategic acquisitions, and secure licenses for popular IP.

Animoca Brands has investments in more than 150 NFT, metaverse, and blockchain companies, having raised roughly $700 million in total [[link removed]] capital.

Last May, the company raised $88.8 million during a two-part funding round, valuing the business at around $1 billion.It completed part two of the round last July, raising an additional $50 million from a group of investors including Samsung and mobile game developer Scopely. In October 2021, the company raised $65 million during a round, which included Sequoia Capital and French video game studio Ubisoft. SoftBank [[link removed]] Vision Fund 2 led a $93 million investment in the company and its mobile game brand The Sandbox last November. Work in Progress

Animoca Brands posted $141 million in bookings and income of $530 million in Q3 2021, while its digital reserves were valued at $16 billion at the end of November.

The company was delisted from the Australian Stock Exchange in March 2020 due to a breach in listing rules fueled by “involvement in cryptocurrency-related activities.”

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, Netflix taps the “Drive to Survive” producer for a new tennis series, the Chicago Bears plan to complete a new stadium site purchase by 2023, MLBPA pressures Endeavor agents to divest, and college football coaching salaries spur a legal inquiry. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. Bull Horn Holdings, a blank-check firm led by former NBA player Baron Davis, is in talks [[link removed]] to go public with New York-based esports startup ReKTGlobal. The combined entity could be valued at more than $400 million. The Beijing Winter Olympics will not [[link removed]] make tickets available to the public due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. The Winter Games, which begin on Feb. 4, will have only “selected” spectators. Last March, the Los Angeles Rams made a splash for a quarterback who started three postseason games in 12 seasons — and lost them all. But on Monday, Matthew Stafford led Los Angeles to a 34-11 beatdown [[link removed]] of the Arizona Cardinals in a NFC Wild Card Game. Subscribe to Sports Section [[link removed]] for more on Stafford and the Rams.

SPONSORED BY SQWAD

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As it’s becoming harder and harder for your partners to stand out, brands don’t want to just ‘be seen’ any longer. Today they expect to connect with fans in meaningful and measurable ways.

SQWAD [[link removed]] is helping fuel the participation age in sponsorship through their easy-to-launch digital contests. With just a few clicks you can customize and launch activations that your sponsors will love (and pay for).

No matter your sponsor’s needs, SQWAD has the perfect activations to help them reach their goals. Click here to learn more [[link removed]].

Market Movers

U.S. stocks experienced declines across all three major indexes on Tuesday. Here’s a look at how sports-related stocks performed:

UA [[link removed]]

Under Armour Inc

[[link removed]]

$16.14

[[link removed]]

-0.34%

[[link removed]] VFC [[link removed]]

VF Corp.

[[link removed]]

$71.05

[[link removed]]

-0.43%

[[link removed]] PTON [[link removed]]

Peloton Interactive Inc

[[link removed]]

$30.20

[[link removed]]

-2.12%

[[link removed]] GCO [[link removed]]

Genesco Inc.

[[link removed]]

$60.94

[[link removed]]

-3.71%

[[link removed]] VSTO [[link removed]]

Vista Outdoor Inc

[[link removed]]

$41.12

[[link removed]]

-3.93%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 1/18/22) What to Watch

The Kansas Jayhawks (14-2) face the Oklahoma Sooners (12-5) on Tuesday at Lloyd Noble Center.

How to Watch: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN

Betting Odds: Kansas -3.5 || ML -160 || O/U 143* ( Bet on DraftKings [[link removed]])

Pick: Expect the Jayhawks to overwhelm the Sooners. Take Kansas to cover.

Who ya got? Reply to this newsletter with your prediction for the Kansas-Oklahoma winner and final score.

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook [[link removed]] for details.

Written by Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]], Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], Justin Byers [[link removed]]

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