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☆ Why Liverpool and Manchester United, two giants of soccer, are up for sale at the same time
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In November, the owners of first Liverpool and then Manchester United confirmed they were open to new investment offers, with the potential for full sales of the top flight English clubs. Meanwhile New York-listed shares in Manchester United popped 18% on the news on Nov. 23 that its owners were similarly opening themselves up to investment opportunities. Big money competition One recurring complaint Manchester United fans have had of the Glazers is a lack of investment in the club, across both facilities and players. Old Trafford Stadium, the home of Manchester United Football Club. "In the cases of Liverpool and Manchester United, both owners have held the clubs for a long time, and both assets have appreciated a lot as their leagues and brands and global fan bases have developed.

☆ Ben Affleck says Netflix's 'assembly line' approach to making quality films is
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Dan Heching | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ben Affleck is sounding off on how movies are being made in today’s age of Netflix and other streaming platforms, which offer an ever-expanding glut of content. “[Netflix’s head of original films] Scott Stuber is a really talented, smart guy who I really like…but it’s an impossible job,” he added. There aren’t enough – you just can’t do it.”Affleck acknowledged that “there’s (a) bigger audience for action movies than there is for small dramas. As seen in Variety, Artists Equity already has a first project in production – a yet-to-be-titled drama about the beginnings of Nike’s incredibly popular Air Jordan sneaker brand. Written and directed by Affleck, the film stars Damon as the executive who landed the endorsement deal for the shoe with Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan.

☆ Juventus drama calls for an Exor exit strategy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Lisa Jucca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Chairman Andrea Agnelli and the other directors resigned en masse on Monday amid intense legal and regulatory scrutiny of the Italian soccer club’s accounts. Prosecutors in the club’s Turin home region, and Italian market regulator Consob, queried how Juventus accounted for its players’ pay. Soccer clubs are in high demand, with Chelsea’s sale earlier this year attracting a feeding frenzy among would-be owners. CONTEXT NEWSJuventus FC Chairman Andrea Agnelli resigned on Nov. 28 along with the Italian soccer club’s entire board, citing pending legal and accounting matters. Prosecutors and Italian market regulator Consob have been scrutinising the club for possible false accounting and market manipulation.

☆ Ben Affleck and Matt Damon just scored $100 million from RedBird Capital. Check out 15 more private equity players making big bets on Hollywood.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Elaine Low | Claire Atkinson | Madeline Berg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Private equity firms are investing heavily in film and TV companies, even amid a possible recession. Private equity accounted for 42% of deals over the last year vs. 24% in 2018, according to PwC. RedBird Capital just invested $100 million in Ben Affeck and Matt Damon's new production company, Artists Equity. And earlier that month, Swedish firm EQT invested in UTA, which makes the private equity player the largest outside shareholder of the talent agency. Insider's second annual list of the top private equity players in Hollywood highlights 16 firms, based on our reporting and conversations with investors and insiders.

☆ 11 production companies cashing in on Hollywood's sports content boom, from Religion of Sports to SpringHill
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Colin Salao | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Netflix's Formula 1 series, "Drive to Survive" is the model other streamers and leagues hope to emulate. Insider identified 11 top companies making scripted and documentary sports content to feed the boom. Investment firms Shamrock, RedBird Capital, and Providence Equity have all made sports content plays, with Shamrock spearheading an investment in Religion of Sports in June. Speaking to buyers, sellers, and other industry stakeholders, Insider identified 11 production companies making the most sought-after sports content. These shingles are poised to capitalize — with many attracting investment and acquisition interest — as Amazon and other streamers keep buying.

Deals for European football clubs this year, beginning with the sanctions-driven sale of Chelsea Football Club by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in May, have fetched top dollar. Those complaints were aired again this month by superstar player Cristiano Ronaldo, who parted ways with Manchester United for the second time. Spokespeople for the six members of the Glazer family that are major Manchester United shareholders could not be reached for comment. More deals are in the works, with Manchester United arch rival Liverpool Football Club also exploring a sale. In August, Elon Musk tweeted: "I'm buying Manchester United ur welcome" only to then clarify he meant it as a joke.

☆ 'Top Gun' studio Skydance just inked a TV and film partnership with the NFL. Here are 10 more top production companies capitalizing on the sports content boom.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Colin Salao | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The NFL has partnered with Skydance Sports to create a "global multi-sport production studio." Netflix's Formula 1 series, "Drive to Survive" is the model other streamers and leagues hope to emulate. Insider identified 11 top companies making scripted and documentary sports content to feed the boom. NFL is muscling into the booming sports production world, investing in a new joint venture with David Ellison's Skydance Sports. Speaking to buyers, sellers, and other industry stakeholders, Insider identified 11 production companies making the most sought-after sports content.

☆ Twitter insiders are getting more worried that the site is at massive risk of crashing under Elon Musk's reign
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Kali Hays | Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Thousands of Twitter employees have been laid off, and Twitter cut costs in infrastructure. Twitter is already under strainA big test for Twitter will be the FIFA World Cup, which kicks off this weekend. In 2018, Twitter boasted its "massive role" in World Cup fandom that year and live matches, which drove 115 billion views of tweets with the World Cup hashtag. The tool was affected by Musk's decision on Monday to turn off the many "microservices" at Twitter, a current employee said. But convincing people to return to the chaos under Musk has been a tough sell, two current employees said.

☆ Chase Sapphire Reserve card review: One of the best premium travel cards now offers an 80,000-point bonus (worth at least $1,200 in travel), but it won't be around for long
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( David E. Slotnick | Senior Reporter | Read More | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +43 min

How to earn points with the Chase Sapphire ReserveThe Chase Sapphire Reserve has one of the most rewarding earning structures of any premium travel card. Chase also offers an easy option for redeeming points on the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. You get a 50% bonus in value with the Chase Sapphire Reserve — so, 1.5 cents per point — and a 25% bonus if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. This includes the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card , Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, and Chase Freedom Flex℠. Also, note that you cannot open a Chase Sapphire Reserve if you currently hold any flavor of Chase Sapphire card.

☆ 'I don't want to work with these clowns.' Inside the culture war that Elon Musk has unleashed at Twitter.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

With a project, you could see who initiated the work, who was the assignee, who was in the chain of command. They wanted to make Twitter a place to exchange ideas and observations that were funny, factual and engaging. Whenever I'm on Twitter, I always find something that makes me laugh, or learn something. It feels like that's what's happening. What's even more frightening is that I don't see any viable alternatives to Twitter right now.

☆ Walmart-backed One has made a splash with high-profile hires and big potential, but customers of the old regime feel left behind
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The ones left behindHaving your bank acquired by the nation's largest retailer might seem like an exciting opportunity. Read our full deep-dive into how One customers feel frustrated by changes made to their bank in the wake of its acquisition. In other news:Diddy, Heidi Klum, and Mindy Kaling are just a few of the many celebrities that celebrate Halloween with statement looks. Diddy/Instagram; Noam Galai/Getty Images for Heidi Klum; Mindy Kaling/Instagram2. Credit to Heidi Klum for going all in.

☆ Former CNN Boss Jeff Zucker in Talks to Join RedBird Capital
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Jessica Toonkel | Miriam Gottfried | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Jeff Zucker resigned from CNN in February after he failed to disclose a consensual relationship with a colleague. Former CNN President Jeff Zucker is in talks with private-equity firm RedBird Capital Partners to run a roughly $1 billion fund investing in sports and media, according to people familiar with the matter. The move would mark Mr. Zucker’s return to the business world since he resigned from CNN in February after he failed to disclose a consensual relationship with a colleague.

☆ How Gregg Lemkau went from Goldman CEO contender to building a hybrid investment bank catering to billionaires
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Gregg Lemkau was in the running for CEO before he left Goldman Sachs in 2020. Now he runs Michael Dell's investment firm, which is merging with billionaire advisory BDT. When Gregg Lemkau left Goldman Sachs in late 2020 to run Michael Dell's investment firm, many within and outside the bank were surprised. Cardinale, who had left Goldman a decade ago to start his own investment firm, knew it had to be a massive opportunity to pull away Lemkau. Oldest sibling Kristin runs JPMorgan's US wealth management business and Lemkau's younger brother Chip is a managing director at Goldman Sachs in private wealth management.

☆ Meet 9 top media bankers transforming the M&A landscape and driving deals for Warner Bros. Discovery, Legendary, Amazon, and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

2022 kicked off with some huge transactions, from AT&T's WarnerMedia spin-off to private equity scooping up content players. Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B, and Diamond Sports Group both recently tapped big banks to explore their options. Not surprisingly, WarnerMedia was at the heart of the richest transaction fee waterfall for big banks in 2022. Moelis and LionTree were just tapped to help figure out what's next for Sinclair's Regional Sports Networks, Diamond Sports Group, while Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B, also hired Moelis to shop the production company, according to Variety. There's lots of dry powder still in private equity, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, co-founder and co-president at investment bank Moelis, told Insider.

☆ 'Top Gun: Maverick' studio Skydance just scored a $400 million funding led by KKR. Meet 16 private equity players betting big on Hollywood now.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Elaine Low | Claire Atkinson | Madeline Berg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Private equity firms are investing more deeply in film and TV content companies, even amid a possible recession. Private equity accounted for 42% of deals over the last year vs. 24% in 2018, according to PwC. KKR just led a $400 million funding round for Skydance, giving the "Top Gun: Maverick" studio a $4 billion valuation. And earlier in July, Swedish firm EQT invested in UTA, which makes the private equity player the largest outside shareholder of the talent agency. And KKR is continuing to make big bets: It just led a $400 million funding round in "Top Gun: Maverick" studio Skydance that sent the production company's valuation north of $4 billion.

☆ Meet 9 top media bankers transforming the M&A landscape as streaming video reshapes entertainment
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

2022 kicked off with some huge transactions, from AT&T's WarnerMedia spin-off to private equity scooping up content players. Company valuations are set to fall back to earth in 2023, and private equity and strategics are lying in wait. Not surprisingly, WarnerMedia was at the heart of the richest transaction fee waterfall for big banks in 2022. Joshua Grode's Legendary Entertainment, backed by Dalian Wanda and now Apollo Group, which took a stake in the studio in January. There's lots of dry powder still in private equity, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, co-founder and co-president at investment bank Moelis, told Insider.

☆ Chase Sapphire Reserve card review: One of the best premium travel cards now offers an 80,000-point bonus (worth at least $1,200 in travel), plus top-notch benefits like airport lounge access
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-03 | by ( David E. Slotnick | Senior Reporter | Read More | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +43 min

Chase also offers an easy option for redeeming points on the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. You get a 50% bonus in value with the Chase Sapphire Reserve — so, 1.5 cents per point — and a 25% bonus if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. This includes the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, and Chase Freedom Flex℠. Airport lounge access including new Chase Sapphire loungesHaving access to airport lounges is one of my favorite perks of the Sapphire Reserve. Also, note that you cannot open a Chase Sapphire Reserve if you currently hold any flavor of Chase Sapphire card.

☆ Kevin Hart sold a $100 million stake in his media company to private equity firm Abry. Here are 10 more Hollywood production shops that are hot M&A targets.
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-19 | by ( Natalie Jarvey | Elaine Low | Madeline Berg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Abry Partners' $100 million stake in Kevin Hart's company HartBeat is the latest big M&A move in Hollywood. Dealmakers said production companies are valuable amid the streaming wars and demand for content. The M&A activity had top Hollywood dealmakers telling Insider in early 2022 that practically every independent production company is a target. Many production companies make work-for-hire or don't control the rights to a project once it is sold off to a studio distributor. Based on January interviews with five entertainment industry experts and insiders, Insider identified a list of 10 production companies that could be compelling acquisition targets as M&A activity continues.

☆ LeBron James și partenerii săi de afacere investesc sume fabuloase în FC Liverpool
▼ + stars: | 2021-04-01 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +1 min

Starul din NBA, LeBron James și partenerii săi de afaceri investesc masiv în FC Liverpool. Compania Fenway Sports Group, care deține clubul englez de fotbal, a semnat un contract cu firma RedBird Capital și va obține de la aceasta peste 735 de milioane de dolari.Banii vor fi alocați pentru modernizarea stadionului Anfield. FSG planifică să majoreze capacitatea tribunelor de la 53 de mii de locuri la 61 de mii. Costul lucrărilor se ridică la 82 de milioane de dolari.Mai mult, noua investiție va ajuta pe FC Liverpool să amortizeze pierderile financiare din perioada pandemiei, estimate la 165 de milioane de dolari.La rândul său, LeBron James, care deținea de mai mulți ani două la sută din acțiunile lui FC Liverpool, își va mări cota de participație la capitalul clubului englez și va deveni membru al grupului de proprietari.Compania Fenway Sports Group, care a cumpărat pachetul de acțiuni al lui FC Liverpool în 2010, este și proprietara echipei de baseball Boston Red Sox.

Persons: LeBron James, Anfield . FSG, James Organizations: FC Liverpool, Compania Fenway Sports Group, RedBird Capital, Anfield, proprietari.Compania Fenway Sports Group, Boston Red Sox Locations: LeBron, englez

☆ The Tucker Carlson origin story
▼ + stars: | 1998-01-28 | by ( Aaron Short | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +57 min

Tucker Carlson is remembered as a provocateur and gleeful contrarian by those who knew him in his early days. It was Tucker Carlson. (Note on style: Tucker Carlson and the members of his family are referred to here by their first names to avoid confusion.) In 1979, Richard Carlson married Patricia Swanson, heiress to the Swanson frozen foods empire that perfected the frozen Salisbury steak for hassle-free dinners. Tucker Carlson attended St. George’s School, a boarding school starting at age 14.

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