The sports investor’s playbook #1 – what every investor needs to know about sporting ecosystems

The news of Silver Lake’s $330m bid for a slice of the New Zealand All Blacks’ commercial rights shows the enduring appeal of sports as an asset class.

Over the next few months we’re going to share what we’ve learnt from our sports work on our website, and explain the key considerations for anyone looking to invest in sporting organisations.

One of the first things any investor needs to understand is the sporting ecosystem surrounding the target investment, and while each ecosystem is different there are number of common stakeholders. We’ve outlined the most important ones in the table below.

It’s vital to get to grips with the key actors and build a picture of their perspective on private capital – without this it’s hard to structure the deal in a way that maximises value. Sport is rulebound, and there are multiple rule-setters who can impact an investor’s position.

If you’re interested in discussing any of this in more detail, please drop me a line or contact another member of the team. And keep an eye out for more insights in the weeks to come.

For an overview of the key stakeholders in the sporting ecosystem, click the image below.