🔊 The Biggest In All Of Sports

📰 TOP STORY
Arctos Sports Partners Closes Fund II At Over $4.1 Billion

• Arctos Sports Partners Closes Fund II At Over $4.1 Billion. Arctos Sports Partners, a private equity firm primarily focused on investing in sports franchises recently announced the final close of their Fund II, the latest iteration of its flagship sports fund. Fund II, along with co-investment and parallel affiliated vehicles, closed with over $4.1 billion in commitments from a diverse group of global investors, including some of the world’s leading pension funds, retirement systems, endowments, insurance companies, family offices, and global wealth platforms, bringing Arctos’ aggregate sports-related Assets Under Management to approximately $7 billion. Almost a third of Fund II’s capital has been deployed across several investments, including Smith Entertainment Group, the holding company that owns the Utah Jazz; Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment, the owner of the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers; Paris Saint-Germain FC; and Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team. Arctos is the only institutional investor approved to invest in multiple teams by MLB, the NBA, the NHL, MLS, global motorsports organizations, and European soccer federations (more here).

💰 MONEY MOVES 
Liberty Media Acquires Dorna Sports

• Liberty Media To Acquire Dorna Sports In A Deal With Equity Value Of $3.78 Billion. Liberty Media agrees to acquire Dorna Sports, the exclusive commercial rights holder to the MotoGP World Championship, from Bridgepoint and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Liberty Media said the transaction, expected to be completed by year-end 2024, is estimated at around 3.5 billion euros or approximately $3.78 billion(more here).

• Silver Lake Agrees To Purchase Endeavor At $13 Billion Valuation. Private equity firm Silver Lake Capital is leading the privatization of Endeavor, which the company describes as the largest in media and entertainment history and the biggest in any sector over the past decade with a $13 billion valuation (more here).

• Perfect Game Announces Investor Group. Perfect Game, the world's premier youth and high school diamond sports platform, announced its investor group which is made up, in part, of 21 former and active MLB players (more here).

• Miach Orthopaedics Raises $20 Million In Series B Extension. Miach Orthopaedics, a company transforming the treatment of ACL tears from reconstruction to restoration with its Bridge-Enhanced ACL Restoration Implant, announced the closing of a $20 million Series B extension financing round (more here).

• Greenfly Announces $14 Million Funding Round. Greenfly, the leader in powering short-form content workflows for sports, media, and other brands, announced the closing of a $14 million funding round led by global sports tech investor ADvantage, with participation from Ryan Sports Ventures, Mercato Partners, and the NBA (more here).

• Centre Court Capital Launches $42 Million SportsTech & Gaming Fund. Centre Court Capital, an Indian-based sports tech venture capital firm, announced that it has launched a 3.5 billion rupees (around $42 million) fund that includes investments from the owners of India’s JSW Group and billionaire Azim Premji’s wealth fund (more here).

 🤝 PARTNERSHIPS
IBM & The Masters Bring New AI Insights To Fans

• IBM & The Masters Partner To Bring New AI Capabilities To Fans. Powered by generative AI capabilities built from Watsonx, IBM's AI and data platform, fans will have access to shot-by-shot Hole Insights offering data-driven projections and analysis for each hole on the course. In addition, IBM will release AI-enabled Spanish language narration as an expansion of its English-language AI Narration feature debuted in 2023 (more here).

• TeamSnap Launches New Training Content In Collaboration With MLS, MLB & FC Barcelona. Developed in partnership with prestigious partners such as MLS, MLB, and FC Barcelona, this cutting-edge training resource is now seamlessly integrated into the TeamSnap app. TeamSnap's training content provides youth sports coaches and parents with access to how-to videos and skill explainers, plus premium practice plans, 1-on-1 and team drills, and more (more here).

• Veritone & Grabyo Partner Up. Veritone, a leader in designing human-centered AI solutions, and Grabyo, a leading cloud video platform for live broadcasting, live clipping, and distribution, announced an integration that creates a connected workflow to streamline live digital content production. (more here).

🔊 OTHER SPORTS NEWS
German-Based SportsTech Company Is Opening US Headquarters

• Major Sports Technology Company Will Open US Headquarters In Arlington, Texas. Sportec Solutions, a German-based company, develops next-gen solutions in the fields of match data and officiating technology. They have a long-term agreement with MLS as the official provider of live data and video assistant referee services. The Arlington Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) recently approved a $1 million performance grant to the company for its new headquarters in north Arlington which will help create 17 new jobs with an average salary of $55,000 annually (more here).

• How NIL Deals & Brand Sponsorships Are Helping College Athletes Make Money. The billion-dollar industry has exploded thanks to brand deals, startups, and donor-backed collectives. Here's a breakdown of BI's recent coverage of student-athlete marketing and NIL activity (more here).

• MLB's Brave New Ticketing Experiment. A handful of MLB teams are debuting technology this season that allows fans to use their faces, instead of paper or digital tickets, to gain access to a stadium (more here).

• Sports As An Asset Class Is Exploding, Says Bruin Capital CEO George Pyne. George Pyne, Bruin Capital founder and CEO, joins ‘Squawk Box’ to discuss the rise of women’s sports, the valuation of sports teams, future of sports media (more here).

• Predictive Analytics & Injury Prevention: Leveraging AI To Identify Potential Risks In Fitness Apps. The fitness and sports industries are undergoing a major shift right now with AI and machine learning being adopted in every corner. But nowhere is this more evident than with the use of predictive analytics to prevent injury (more here).

• Teamviewer Launches SheSportTech Initiative. Manchester United’s principal partner, TeamViewer, is launching an exciting initiative encouraging more women to move into a role in sports technology (more here).

• How This 2x Exited Founder Is Helping Fans Invest In Their Favorite Athletes Through Finlete. Imagine being able to buy stakes in some of the premier young athletes before they reach stardom. With Finlete, that's now a reality (more here).