EQT Drops $106M On Australian Rugby Club

EQT, a large Swedish private equity firm, values the Australian club at $106M in its first direct sports team investment.

The purchase follows a record $3.7B seven-year broadcast deal that made Australia's National Rugby League far more lucrative.

Most NRL clubs are controlled by members or league officials, so this sale is rare, and funds will upgrade facilities and youth development.

Rule42 Sports Group, an investment firm led by former Intel executive Renée James, bought an undisclosed stake in the growing softball league.

James will join the league's board of directors to help expand new opportunities in player development and professional scouting.

The deal follows a successful second season for the league, featuring 25 sold-out games and a 152% jump in television viewership.

TV ratings company Nielsen is switching to wearable tracking devices to automatically measure when multiple people watch a single screen together.

A pilot test showed a 4.2% viewership boost for mega-events, but industry experts doubt regular sports broadcasts will see similar gains.

Ad buyers factored these changes into $33.8B of TV deals, resulting in only a minor 2% price increase for fall football commercials.

The famous tennis tournament sold roughly 740K Honey Deuce drinks last year at $23 each, creating a massive new revenue stream.

To manage surging demand, organizers installed a fast draft system that lets bartenders pour the popular vodka drink in just 12 seconds.

Veteran mixologist Nick Mautone invented the iconic beverage nearly 20 years ago, using honeydew melon balls that cleverly resemble miniature tennis balls.

The professional golf league canceled its Michigan finale, dropping the combined prize pool for its revised Indianapolis ending to $40.1M.

The cash reduction occurs as the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the league's primary financial backer, ends its funding this season.

The organization faces lawsuits over unpaid bills and is negotiating a new funding deal with investment firm BC Partners Credit.

Five schools joining the Pac-12 sports league will pay $49M in total, roughly half of the original exit penalties initially demanded.

The Mountain West will collect the funds by deducting $9.8M from each university's final revenue payouts over the next two seasons.

The settlement officially ends a bitter lawsuit where the departing schools accused the Mountain West and its leadership of fraud over the fees.

Sports merchandise giant Fanatics will use the partnership to promote its new betting app directly to football fans during live broadcasts.

Fanatics replaces casino operator Caesars in an exclusive marketing group that the football league previously valued at $1B over five years.

To secure the deal, Fanatics agreed to pay higher fees for official game data to ensure accurate live betting for users.

The new platform lets users buy contracts on sports outcomes, beating the opening-week volume of established competitors like DraftKings.

The startup saw a massive $26.3M in trading on its busiest day, with baseball markets driving most of the activity.

Despite this early success, Novig is currently suing five states to prevent them from classifying its financial contracts as illegal gambling.