ewsba.se
Bruin Capital has agreed to purchase a minority stake in sports promoter Matchroom, the companies announced on Monday.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. But according to a person familiar with the matter, Bruin Capital is buying a 15% stake at a valuation north of $1.35 billion (£1 billion). Matchroom’s majority owner, the Hearn family, will maintain control of the business, while Bruin Capital will join the company’s board of directors.
WNBA Expansion Vote: Ownership, Valuation Breakdown for 3 Teams
Sports Leagues Could Punish Epstein-Tied Owners
Josh Harris Firm Leads $1 Billion Raise for Bruin Capital
The promotion outfit, founded by Barry Hearn in 1982, produces more than 600 events and 2,400 hours of programming annually. Its portfolio includes Matchroom Boxing, the Professional Darts Corporation and the World Snooker Tour, among other businesses, and the company represents star boxers Anthony Joshua and Katie Taylor, as well as the reigning two-time darts world champion Luke Littler.
Successful as it may have been, Matchroom was a modest operation, pulling a $1 million profit on $10 million in annual revenue when Hearn’s son, Eddie, joined the family business in 2000, according to Forbes. Just over a decade later, Eddie approached his father with a radical plan to ramp up the firm’s boxing business. In 2024, Forbes valued that division at $850 million on $134 million in revenue, making it the fifth-largest promotion in the combat sports industry.
For the past few years, Matchroom has been a highly coveted asset among institutional investors. In 2022, Sky News reported that the company was in talks with CVC Capital Partners, KKR and Searchlight Capital about a potential stake sale that could value the entire enterprise between $735 million (£600 million) and $860 million (£700 million). After those talks fell through, U.K.-based sports marketing agency Pitch International bought a piece of Matchroom two years later.
With Bruin Capital aboard, Matchroom is expected to continue its push into the U.S. market, where its already started ramping up its footprint. The Westchester, N.Y.-based investment firm was founded in 2015 by George Pyne, who previously worked at NASCAR and IMG. Bruin has invested in a slew of sports related businesses including TGI Sport, AS1, Full Swing, FairPlay Sports Media, PlayGreen and Proof of the Pudding. Its portfolio also includes Box to Box Films, the creator of Netflix’s Drive to Survive docuseries that chronicles Formula 1.
Bruin Capital has raised more than $2 billion since its inception, including a $1 billion funding raise that Josh Harris’ 26North Private Equity participated in earlier this year.
Most Expensive Sports Memorabilia and Collectibles in History
The 100 Most Valuable Sports Teams in the World
NFL Private Equity Ownership Rules: PE Can Now Own Stakes in Teams