October 28 - Office Work (6 hours)

This day I researched about all the investments made by private equity operators in the world of sport. In 2016 the UFC (The Ultimate Fighting Championship), the most important mixed martial arts (MMA) organization in the world, passed to the consortium led by the Endeavor agency, which includes three private equity funds, for 4 billion dollars. Another billionaire operation, not yet concluded, is that of the sale of a minority stake in the NBA to Dyal Capital Partners, a division of the Neuberger Berman group. The private equity operator historically most interested in sport is CVC Capital Partners. The investment company, whose Italian office is led by Giampiero Mazza, has recently focused on rugby, first acquiring, in 2019, 27% of the English Premiership rugby for 200 million pounds, then, the following year, 28% of the Pro14 competition for 120 million pounds, finally, in 2021, 14.5% of the Six Nations tournament, for a total invested in the oval ball of about 780 million dollars. In 2006, CVC sold its stake in Dorna, the Spanish company that owns the exclusive rights to Moto GP and Superbike, to Bridgepoint Capital. And a few weeks ago, through the VII fund, it signed a partnership with the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB). The aim of the agreement, according to a press release, is to support "innovation, growth and investment in volleyball worldwide", the fourth most popular sport globally, with more than 800 million fans. Volleyball, recalls the note, "was the most watched sport at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, with 2.6 billion hours of viewing globally"