Everton FC has received takeover interest from a blank-check company co-led by Jeffrey Soros, the nephew of businessman and philanthropist George Soros, according to Bloomberg. 

The Premier League club — the 16th-most valuable soccer team in the world at $940 million, per Forbes — is having ongoing talks with LAMF Global Ventures Corp. I, but no deal is imminent. 

• LAMF raised $253 million in November 2021 in an initial public offering.
• Everton is owned by Farhad Moshiri, who first purchased a 50% stake in 2016.
• The club will have a new $566 million, state-of-the-art stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock in Liverpool.

Everton also has takeover interest from another U.S. investor. 

In October, Minnesota-based investor Maciek Kaminski was in advanced talks to purchase Everton in a deal believed to be worth roughly $446.8 million, according to the Financial Times. 

Kaminski was initially going to make a bid for Everton with former Chelsea and Manchester United CEO Peter Kenyon, investment banker Michael Klein, and Barrick Gold executive chair John Thornton. 

Kaminski has since split with that group to make an offer of his own.

Iconic Takeovers 

A deal for Everton would see the latest takeover of an iconic English club.

In May, a group co-led by Todd Boehly purchased Chelsea FC for $5.3 billion, which put nine of 20 Premier League clubs under American ownership.

Manchester United is also the subject of sale speculation as its owner, the Glazer family, deals with pressure from fans due to concerns over the club’s viability and future.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, who is expected to sign a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars this offseason, may have made another millionaire with one historic swing on Tuesday night.

Texas Rangers fan Cory Youmans caught Judge’s 62nd home run ball, which broke the American League single-season record set by Roger Maris in 1961.

• When asked what he planned to do with the ball shortly after catching it, Youmans replied, “That’s a good question. I haven’t thought about it.”
• Many have estimated that the ball could be worth millions.
• “It’d be great to get it back, but you know, that’s a souvenir for a fan,” Judge said after the game. “They made a great catch out there, and they’ve got every right to it.”

Judge’s 60th home run ball was caught by a fan and exchanged for four autographed balls, a signed game bat, and a meeting with Judge. His 61st landed in the Toronto Blue Jays’ bullpen and was given to Judge, who gave it to his mother, Patty.

Judge’s run at the record caused a surge in ticket demand. Sales on StubHub for the Yankees’ final regular-season homestand jumped 60%, with bleacher seats more than doubling in price.

Good Judgment

Judge, 30, turned down a seven-year, $213.5 million extension offer from the Yankees prior to this season. That decision could earn him an additional $100 million, as the Yankees will have to bid against the other 29 teams to retain the services of the likely American League MVP.

Asia’s largest sports media property hasn’t emerged unscathed over the past financial year. 

Combat sports promotion ONE Championship suffered losses of $111 million in 2021, according to an annual filing with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority in Singapore. 

ONE Championship — owned by Group ONE Holdings —  ranks second in digital viewership among global sports properties but has amassed $383 million in total losses as of Dec. 31, 2021. 

• ONE Championship saw marketing expenses reach $56 million in 2021.
• Costs of sales for the promotion hit $35 million during the same period.
• Total revenue reached $67.7 million in 2021, up 19% year-over-year.
• Revenue from media rights made up more than $50 million of total revenue in 2021. 

ONE Championship could hit the public market soon, as its parent company prepares for an initial public offering. 

In August, Group ONE announced plans to change its legal domicile from Singapore to the Cayman Islands. The company originally planned to go public via a SPAC merger and had previously been linked to Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs for the deal. 

Going Global 

In January, Group ONE raised $150 million in a funding round led by Guggenheim Investments and the Qatar Investment Authority, valuing ONE Championship at $1.4 billion and allowing for expansion outside of Asia.

In July, it agreed to a multiyear streaming rights deal with Amazon Prime Video and secured a pact in September with BeIN Media Group to broadcast events in North Africa and the Middle East.