The sports vehicle backed by CVC Capital Partners, the former owner of Formula One motor racing, is close to striking a $300m deal to buy a majority stake in Equine Network, a US-based equestrian sports league. Sky News has learnt that Global Sport Group (GSG), which owns stakes in assets such as women’s professional tennis and Six Nations Rugby, is lining up its first new league investment since the new entity was created.
Sports industry sources said the deal could be struck and announced in the coming days. Equine Network operates equestrian-based sports competitions ranging from team roping rodeo events to showjumping tournaments, and has benefited from growing spectator and participant interest in the American market. The business, which has been built over several years by chief executive Tom Winsor, now consists of 40 owned and operated competitions, as well as more than 800 events operated by third parties.
A significant proportion of Equine Network’s competition revenues is understood to be awarded to competitors in prize money, with some tournaments’ prize funds reaching tens of millions of dollars. GSG’s investment in Equine Network will increase the vehicle’s exposure to the US and bring into its portfolio a profitable and fast-growing league.
One source said the deal would underpin GSG’s model of using its network of sports industry executives to aid investment in technology infrastructure, to expand fan engagement and enhance commercial opportunities in areas such as sponsorship and data services. The deal will come as CVC-backed GSG prepares to bring in billions of dollars of new debt and equity funding as it seeks to become a global sports powerhouse.
Sky News revealed this month that GSG, which is chaired by the former BT executive Marc Allera, was launching a €2.7bn debt refinancing process alongside talks with third-party investors from the private equity arena. GSG also owns interests in Premiership Rugby, the top flights of French and Spanish football, and international volleyball. Its new warchest is aimed at acquiring a series of other assets in sports with substantial commercial growth prospects. Once completed, the deal will enable CVC to remain invested in its sports portfolio for longer, while also paving the way for the sale of a minority stake in GSG or a future initial public offering on a major international stock exchange.
Having made billions of dollars from its ownership of F1 – one of the most lucrative deals in the history of sport – CVC has bought stakes in leagues and other assets spanning a spectrum of elite sporting assets over the last two decades. CVC’s backing of global sports properties is intended to position it to maximise their commercial potential through new media and sponsorship rights deals, as well as their expansion into new formats aimed at drawing wider audiences amid rapid shifts in media consumption. Its sporting assets will remain autonomous and independent of one another, despite the new umbrella holding entity.
One expected benefit of the GSG approach would be the sourcing of new investment opportunities, with CVC potentially interested in the acquisition of further elite tennis tournaments. Global sports properties have become one of the hottest growth areas for private capital in recent years, with firms such as Ares, Silver Lake Partners and Bridgepoint all investing substantial sums in teams, leagues and other assets across the industry. CVC and GSG have been contacted for comment.
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