Private equity and sport: What's driving investor interest?
Private equity and sport: What's driving investor interest?
Private equity investment in sport has moved firmly into the mainstream. As sporting organisations look for new ways to fund growth and investors seek opportunities in scarce assets with loyal audiences and strong commercial potential, private capital is playing a more visible role across the sector. This is opening new possibilities for clubs, leagues and governing bodies, while also raising important questions about value creation, governance and the long-term interests of the game.
In this article, we examine why sport has become increasingly attractive to private equity, how private capital can support growth, and the risks sporting organisations should weigh as the sector continues to evolve.
How private equity investment in sport has evolved
For much of the twentieth century, professional sports clubs were seen primarily as trophy, civic or community assets. They were often owned by wealthy individuals, families, member associations or corporations driven by a mix of sporting ambition, local pride, influence and prestige, rather than financial returns. This meant sport did not sit neatly within the traditional private equity model, particularly given the uncertainty of on-field performance, high player costs, complex ownership rules and limited exit options.
This began to shift in the late 1990s and early 2000s, as investors found ways into the sector through media networks, agencies, event rights and other businesses connected to sport. Investments in MotoGP and Formula One showed that the opportunity extended beyond individual teams to the broader commercial platform around a competition, including media rights, sponsorship, hospitality, events and intellectual property. By the 2010s, stronger media-rights values, more professional management, digital distribution and new revenue streams were helping to position sport as an increasingly attractive media, entertainment and consumer business.
Momentum gathered from 2019, when major US leagues began allowing institutional investors to take passive minority stakes in teams. The pandemic then created a greater need for external capital across the sector. Private equity investment now reaches across clubs, leagues, commercial rights, venues, technology, women’s sport and multi-club platforms. Australia is still at an earlier stage than North America and Europe, but recent developments, including EQT’s announced investment in Melbourne Storm, have brought the conversation closer to home.
Why investors are increasingly attracted to sport
Several factors are helping to make sport a more compelling proposition for private equity investors:
Sporting assets are difficult to replicate
Elite sporting competitions and franchises are difficult to replicate. Access is tightly controlled, ownership opportunities are limited and participation rights can be hard to secure. With supply constrained, their value reflects more than financial performance alone. Brand strength, history, strategic importance and their place within the sporting ecosystem all contribute to their appeal.
Live sport remains one of the most valuable forms of content
As on-demand viewing has grown, live sport has become more valuable because it remains one of the few forms of content that large audiences regularly watch in real time. This reach and engagement support media-rights income, advertising and other recurring revenue, making premium live sport an important part of the investment case.
Sport has become a global brand business
Digital platforms allow clubs and competitions to engage fans globally and grow revenue beyond match day through content, memberships, merchandise, gaming, sponsorships, licensing and direct-to-consumer offerings. Private equity investors see opportunities to strengthen these commercial capabilities, deepen fan engagement and unlock new revenue streams that support long-term growth.
Together, these factors are changing how investors view sporting organisations. Rather than seeing them only as teams or competitions, investors increasingly recognise their potential as premium media assets, global consumer brands and long-term strategic assets that can create enduring value.
How private capital can support growth
For many sporting organisations, private capital can help bring forward growth initiatives that may otherwise be difficult to fund. This could include investment in facilities, technology, data and analytics, fan engagement or competition development. These initiatives often require significant upfront capital, with the benefits realised over time.
Private equity involvement does not necessarily mean giving up control. A transaction might involve a minority stake, a commercial partnership or investment in a revenue-generating entity. These structures can give governing bodies and existing owners access to growth capital while allowing them to retain strategic oversight.
Silver Lake’s investment in New Zealand Rugby followed this approach, with capital directed into a commercial vehicle to support technology, fan engagement, sponsorship and digital growth, while New Zealand Rugby retained control of the governing body.
Understanding the risks and challenges
Private equity can create meaningful opportunities for sporting organisations, but there are also risks and challenges to work through. Valuation is an important consideration. Competition for a limited number of investable sporting assets can push transaction values higher, making the entry price and a clear plan for creating future value critical to long-term returns.
Sport also has a complex stakeholder environment. Fans, members, players, sponsors, governing bodies and communities may scrutinise decisions perceived to conflict with their interests or the broader interests of the game. Commercial outcomes can also be affected by sporting performance, media rights, regulation, governance structures, league approvals, ownership restrictions and other stakeholder obligations.
Successful investment therefore requires financial expertise alongside a strong understanding of governance, stakeholder management and sport’s cultural significance.
Looking ahead
Private equity’s growing role in sport reflects a broader change in how sporting organisations are understood. Investors increasingly see them as a distinctive combination of premium media assets, strong consumer brands and scarce long-term assets with the potential to support sustainable growth.
As sporting organisations look for new ways to fund growth and investors seek exposure to differentiated assets, private capital is likely to become more visible across the sector. For boards and executives, the question is increasingly not whether private capital has a place in sport, but how an investment can be structured to support commercial growth while protecting the long-term interests of the game, its participants and its communities.
BDO's private equity and sport sector specialists work with investors, clubs, governing bodies and sporting organisations on growth opportunities, governance, transaction readiness, capital raising and strategic transformation. If your organisation is considering how private capital could support its long-term objectives, contact our team to discuss the options and considerations.
