February 4, 2022

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Rockstar Games confirmed Friday morning that it is in “active development for the next entry” in the Grand Theft Auto series. According to Take-Two Interactive, more than 155 million copies of “GTA 5” have been sold.

Spanish FA Joins Lawsuit Opposing $2.3B LaLiga-CVC Deal

SEFutbol/Design: Alex Brooks

The Spanish Football Association, Real Federación Española de Fútbol, has joined a lawsuit led by Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Athletic Bilbao that opposes a deal between La Liga and CVC Capital Partners.

CVC struck a deal [[link removed]] worth roughly $2.3 billion last year to assist with La Liga’s pandemic-related financial struggles.

The equity firm would receive a reported [[link removed]] 8.2% stake of the league’s new media company in charge of managing media rights — La Liga Impulso — over a 50-year period.CVC has admitted that the firm is likely to sell within the next 10 years.

Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Athletic Bilbao filed a lawsuit against the deal shortly after it received approval from 37 of the league’s 42 teams in December. The teams called the deal “ruinous” for Spanish football and presented [[link removed]] an alternative plan for funding that they said would be “15 times cheaper” ahead of the vote.

RFEF has now joined [[link removed]] the three clubs “to prevent Spanish football from being conditioned for the next 50 years.” The governing body emphasized that the league and private equity firm were the only [[link removed]] beneficiaries of the deal.

Season of CVC

CVC Capital isn’t only focused on La Liga. The firm, Advent International, and Italy’s FSI Fund, agreed to a similar $2 billion deal for a 10% stake in Italy’s Serie A’s media unit. The league’s board unanimously approved [[link removed]] the deal in November. Bundesliga blocked [[link removed]] a deal in May that would have given CVC and other firms a 25% stake in its media rights.

Future Raises $75M In Round Including Rory McIlroy, J.J. Watt

Future/Design: Alex Brooks

Digital fitness company Future announced a $75 million Series C funding round on Thursday led by private equity firms SC.Holdings and Trustbridge Partners.

A service that pairs members with fitness coaches and tracks workouts through an Apple Watch, Future has raised more than $110 million in total [[link removed]] funding. Users pay $149 each month for unlimited access to their coach, averaging four texts per day.

The round includes Kevin Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures, Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils owner Harris Blitzer Entertainment, Fabletics cofounder Kate Hudson, golfer Rory McIlroy, and Arizona Cardinals’ defensive end J.J. Watt as investors.

The capital will be used [[link removed]] toward advertising and hiring full-time trainers.Future is reportedly looking at expanding into stress management and nutrition.

The company says it has one of the largest trainer networks in the U.S.

Fitness of the Future

Kate Hudson and her brother Oliver, who is also an investor in the round, will host Sibling Revelry, a podcast discussing health, wellness, and fitness, as opposed to recording workout videos, to promote the brand. The podcast adds to the list of fitness companies expanding into wellness.

Hyperice, a company known for its recovery and movement technology, acquired [[link removed]] mental wellness company Core last year, while Peloton, known for its workout equipment, launched stretching and meditation classes on Delta Airlines.

Editor’s note: SC.Holdings is an investor in FOS.

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Saudi Wealth Fund Invests Over $1B In Gaming Firms

Capcom/Design: Alex Brooks

The Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, is taking its investments in video game companies to the next level with the purchase of a combined holding worth more than $1 billion in gaming firms Capcom and Nexon.

The PIF, which has $480 billion in assets under management, disclosed it has acquired a more than 5% stake in each of the Japan-based companies.

The fund purchased a stake in Capcom, the studio behind the “Street Fighter” franchise worth [[link removed]] roughly $332 million, according to Friday’s share price, while its stake in online games provider Nexon is worth about $883 million.

Headed by Crown Prince Mohammed, the PIF has a growing list of gaming-related investments.

The fund has 5.6 million Take-Two Interactive shares worth roughly $996 million.It has 14.2 million Electronic Arts shares worth $1.9 billion.The fund has 37.9 million Activision Blizzard shares worth more than $3 billion.

The PIF has been aggressive about investing in gaming. In January, Savvy Gaming Group — fully backed by the fund — purchased [[link removed]] esports tournament and league operators ESL and FACEIT for a combined $1.5 billion.

Staying Busy

Earlier this week, The Asian Tour announced an increased [[link removed]] investment by LIV Golf Investments, an investment entity backed by the PIF. To date, LIV has invested $300 million in the tour.

The PIF has also invested in McLaren, acquired the Premier League’s Newcastle, and is reportedly [[link removed]] nearing a deal to purchase Serie A’s Inter Milan for $1 billion.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, Amazon increases its Prime price to $139 annually, an MLB spring training delay becomes more likely, Bryson DeChambeau denies getting a $135 million offer to join the Super Golf League, and Asics runs to profit amid controversy in China. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. Activision Blizzard generated $2.49 billion in revenue in Q4 2021, missing [[link removed]] analysts’ estimates of $2.84 billion. The company cited “lower than expected performance” in its Activision division. MLB has requested [[link removed]] help from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to aid in negotiations with the MLBPA and team owners. The MLBPA must approve use of the FMCS. The New York Giants have denied [[link removed]] any wrongdoing following allegations made by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores of an improper interviewing process.

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WNBA Valued At $1B

Find out exactly what’s happening in the private markets every week with highlights from our Front Office Sports Insights Deal Tracker.

We carefully monitor both public and private market data to capture a picture of what the sports landscape looks like.

Insights Deal Tracker Highlights [[link removed]]:

Bungie, a video games developer that includes online sports, was acquired by Sony for a reported $3.6 billion. Future, the developer of a personal training app designed to connect members with high-level fitness coaches, raised $75 million in a Series C funding in a round led by Trustbridge Partners and SC.Holdings. The WNBA, a professional women’s basketball league, raised $75 million in development capital from Nike, Condoleezza Rice, Laurene Powell Jobs, and Pau Gasol, among others. Metafy, a developer of an e-learning platform designed to provide esports education, raised $25 million in a Series A funding round led by Tiger Global and Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six capital. RUN.EDGE, the Tokyo-based developer of sports video analysis technology designed to turn sports scenes from video analysis into new user experiences, raised $6.7 million from Asics Ventures in later stage VC funding.

Try out the full Deal Tracker. [[link removed]]

Market Movers

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

WWE [[link removed]]

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$51.59

[[link removed]]

+1.18%

[[link removed]] EA [[link removed]]

Electronic Arts, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$138.00

[[link removed]]

+1.93%

[[link removed]] LYV [[link removed]]

Live Nation Entertainment Inc

[[link removed]]

$108.33

[[link removed]]

+2.34%

[[link removed]] ARMK [[link removed]]

Aramark

[[link removed]]

$35.75

[[link removed]]

+2.64%

[[link removed]] CZR [[link removed]]

Caesars Entertainment Inc

[[link removed]]

$79.00

[[link removed]]

+3.65%

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

VF Corp.

[[link removed]]

$63.14

[[link removed]]

-0.33%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 2/4/22) What to Watch

The Philadelphia 76ers (31-20) face the Dallas Mavericks (29-23) on Friday at American Airlines Center.

How to Watch: 10 p.m. ET on ESPN

Betting Odds: Mavericks -2 || ML -125 || O/U 210.5* ( Bet on DraftKings [[link removed]])

Pick: Expect the Mavericks to protect home court. Take Dallas to cover.

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

MORE FROM FOS:

The Leadoff [[link removed]] - Daily Business of Sports Podcast

Front Office Sports Insights [[link removed]] - The most promising opportunities where sports meets industry

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