AFC Bournemouth is nearing a deal that would see the newly promoted English soccer club share the same owner as the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights.

Earlier this month, Maxim Demin — Bournemouth’s current owner — hired Montminy & Co. to facilitate a sale of the team. Less than a week later, the team is reportedly in exclusive takeover discussions with a group led by Golden Knights owner Bill Foley.

Montminy, a California-based investment bank and financial advisory firm, was reportedly appointed with the intention to attract American investors. If Foley acquires ownership, half of the Premier League’s 20 teams would be under American ownership.

Demin, who is asking for around $172 million, has reportedly been interested in selling the club for nearly four years but reignited his efforts when the club returned to the Premier League earlier this year.

• Several groups have shown interest in the club, but no discussions have progressed as far as Foley’s.
• Demin purchased a 50% stake in the team in 2011 in a deal valued at $975,000.

The club is expected to generate $172 million in 2023 revenue.

Foley’s Finances

Foley gave Las Vegas its first major professional sports team in 2017 with the Golden Knights, paying the league’s $500 million expansion fee. The team was last valued at $710 million.

In June, Foley signed a letter of intent to invest in John Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings through Cannae Holdings, pledging to provide a credit facility of up to $523 million related to a takeover of Ligue 1 team Olympique Lyonnais.

Formula 1 is headed to Las Vegas next year, and worries about the cost of tickets have been put to rest — for the most part.

Renee Wilm, CEO of the race, said there will be an area with a watch-party feel that offers more “affordable” prices and is aimed at a younger audience.

Wilm, who is also Liberty Media’s chief legal officer and chief administrative officer, said the tickets will likely go on sale in early 2023, but did not give exact ticket prices. Liberty Media acquired Formula 1 for $4.4 billion in a deal that closed in 2017.

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William Hornbuckle, CEO and president of MGM Resorts International, said his company wants to buy $20 million to $25 million worth of tickets to the race to resell them with a hotel room bundle.

• Hornbuckle said on an earnings call last month that MGM would purchase the tickets, then “charge as we want and package as we want.”
• He added that some packages retail for $100,000.

Formula 1 expects ticket demand to “far exceed the 100,000-plus official spectator capacity” for the event.

Racetrack Tickets

Las Vegas isn’t the only race that has F1 fans worried about prices.

Last Thursday, Silverstone temporarily suspended ticket sales for the 2023 British Grand Prix following criticism of ticketing provider Secutix’s “dynamic pricing” system, which increases ticket costs in real time depending on demand. The system also shut down and kicked fans out of ticketing queues.

Warner Bros. Discovery only recently wrapped up its mega-merger, but another could be on the horizon.

Comcast is reportedly eyeing the media giant, per the Hollywood Reporter. Warner Bros. Discovery became a single company on the completion of a $43 billion merger in which AT&T spun off Warner Bros.

• Comcast is reportedly intrigued by Warner Bros. Discovery’s flagging stock price. The company is down around 47% since hitting the NASDAQ in April.
• Warner Bros. Discovery’s market capitalization sits at $31.34 billion.
• Comcast is down 39.5% over the last 12 months, falling to a market cap of $150.82 billion.

Due to details of the Warner Bros. Discover merger, no formal takeover negotiations can start until April 2024.

A New Sports Giant?

A combined Comcast and Warner Bros. Discovery would have an impressive portfolio of sports rights.

Comcast holds U.S. rights to the NFL, including “Sunday Night Football,” the Olympics, the Premier League, and a package of Sunday morning MLB games on its streaming service Peacock.

Warner Bros. Discovery has NBA rights through Turner Sports, plus a host of European rights from Eurosport. 

After a $773 million agreement with BT Sport closed in September, its rights include the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, the Olympics, Grand Slam tennis tournaments, and the Tour de France.

Warner Bros. Discovery will have the option to buy out BT Sport in three years.

A startup backed by Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore is looking to create a new category of sports betting focusing on the long-term success of individual players.

Mojo, an athlete “stock market,” launched in New Jersey on Monday with the announcement that it has raised $100 million to date.

• The company, which is legally considered a sportsbook, plans to roll out in every state where sports betting is legal.
• It is initially offering shares in active NFL players, with plans to expand to other sports.
• Rodriguez and Lore helped provide initial backing for the company but are not involved in the company’s management.

Mojo co-founder Vinit Bharara founded Diapers.com with Lore, which they sold to Amazon in 2011 for around $550 million. 

A New Type of Asset

Players gain or lose value based on their on-field performance, which can be cashed out at any point. Stock prices are based on accumulated and projected earnings, and users can short players, as well.

“When people buy that stock, that stock has what we call intrinsic value, meaning it has an objective dollar value that isn’t just worth what the next guy says it’s worth,” Bharara explained to Front Office Sports. 

“That’s kind of what we see in the trading card industry. And that’s become a big problem, I think, in America generally.”

To ensure liquidity, the company is acting as the market maker, seeking to balance investments and shorts to guarantee its fees and commissions.