LeBron Eyes Another Ownership Move

LeBron James teased a sports team ownership move on Twitter. 

Following Tuesday’s U.S. Senate runoff election, which saw Rev. Raphael Warnock defeat incumbent Kelly Loeffler, James tweeted: “Think I’m gone put together an ownership group for the The Dream. Whose In? #BlackVotesMatter.”

Loeffler, who owns 49% of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, saw the team — and other WNBA players — wear “Vote Warnock” T-shirts and lead a voting effort after she came out against the Black Lives Matter and Say Her Name movements. 

The players helped raise $236,000 in donations for Warnock’s campaign within days of wearing the shirts.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts responded to James’ tweet with: “Count me in.” Comedian Kevin Hart said he’s in as well, as did multiple NFL players. Former NBA player Baron Davis previously offered to buy Loeffler’s shares.

James isn’t new to team ownership:

• He owns a 2% stake in the Liverpool Football Club
• His business partner Maverick Carter has said James wants to be part of an NBA or NFL ownership group

With NBA valuations surging — many teams are valued at more than $2 billion — the Dream would be a more affordable entry to the American sports ownership world. The average WNBA team is likely worth around $13.7 million.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is making a 180 on his sports betting policies. 

At next week’s State of the State address, Cuomo will introduce mobile sports betting as a potential revenue-generating measure to help offset the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

New York already has physical sportsbooks, which generated $16.3 million in 2020 revenue through November.

“New York has the potential to be the largest sports wagering market in the United States,” Cuomo said in a statement to The New York Daily News.

The move comes as neighbor New Jersey continues to set monthly sports wagering records, taking in $931.6 million in bets in November, 90% of them online. Sportsbooks netted $50.6 million in revenue from the month’s wagers, and $6.2 million in taxes went to the state.

According to a recent industry survey, 20% of New Jersey’s sports wagering comes from New York residents.

Affirm Holdings, a lender that provides payment installment loans for online shoppers, is seeking nearly $935 million in an IPO. The San Francisco-based company will reportedly begin trading on Jan. 13. 

Affirm plans to sell 24.6 million shares at $33 to $38 each, it said in a filing on Tuesday. Based on outstanding shares listed in the filing, the company would have a market value of $9.22 billion after the IPO. 

More than 6,500 merchants use Affirm’s technology to offer shoppers payment schedules at an annual interest rate of 0% to 30%. 

Connected fitness company Peloton accounted for about 28% of Affirm’s total revenue in the 12 months through June 2020. The companies offer 0% APR financing on Peloton equipment purchases, which start at $1,895. 

Affirm’s next nine biggest clients accounted for less than 10% of revenue combined. The company listed its dependence on Peloton as a potential risk factor in the IPO filing. 

Founded in 2012 by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin, Affirm made $510 million in its last fiscal year, a 93% increase over the prior year.

A new special purpose acquisition company, Sports Ventures Acquisition Corp., raised $200 million in an IPO.

The SPAC plans to target the sports, media and entertainment industries. That includes business in traditional and “emerging” sports, as well as film and TV production. 

Alan Kestenbaum, CEO of steel company Stelco and Atlanta Falcons minority shareholder, is CEO and chairman of Sports Ventures Acquisition. Robert Tilliss, CEO of sports investment bank Inner Circle Sports, is the SPAC’s CFO.

SPACs have become a popular vehicle for taking private companies public, and many sports investors have recently gotten involved:

• NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal launched a SPAC with former Disney executives.
• Oakland A’s Executive Vice President Billy Beane is a partner in RedBall Acquisition Corp., which entered talks in October to acquire a piece of Boston Red Sox owner Fenway Sports Group.
• Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta has been involved in multiple SPACs.
• Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley has also led multiple SPACs, including one that just acquired payment platform Paysafe, which is active in sports betting.

Sports betting company DraftKings is perhaps the most successful sports-related SPAC acquisition yet. Since going public via a SPAC merger in April 2020, its shares have gained more than 150%.