What’s up, it’s Friday, and here’s the scoop from your go-to Bloomberg Deals newsletter. Got a hot one for ya today ‘cause we’re chatting with the head honcho of the casino giant with a piece of Barstool Sports, diving into some juicy boardroom drama up in Canada, and catching wind of Starboard’s latest chess move please click the following page.
Grab the popcorn for today’s top dish
The Hand We Played for Barstool
So I had this heart-to-heart with Jay Snowden, the big boss over at Penn National Gaming. We’re talking the nitty-gritty of last year’s bold move for Barstool Sports and what it’s like when a Centerview banker has got your back as chairman. And hey, they just wrapped up a smooth $2 billion deal to snag the Canadian gaming crew, The Score. —Liana Baker
Catch me up, how’d you jump into the sports betting ring?
Just picture this — bright lights, roulette wheels, poker chips clinking in Vegas. That’s my playground. My mom? Queen of the poker tables. I guess you could say the gamble’s in my DNA. Fast-forward to 2011, I waved goodbye to Caesars and hitched my wagon to Penn. I was all in for the corporate hustle and some deal-making action.
Spill it, how’d the Barstool play fall into your lap?
Here’s the deal — when Uncle Sam gave the thumbs up to sports betting by kicking PASPA to the curb, we hit the ground running for a teammate ’cause we had the casinos but no ace to lead the sports betting game. We were scoping out the scene, schmoozing with a whole bunch of outfits for nine months when Barstool swaggered into the picture.
The Barstool squad had it all — the name, the fans, and a thirst to dive into sports betting. And us? We had the keys — licenses cbc, smarts, and the chops for running the show in betting and casinos, both on the ground and online.
The dynamic duo at Barstool, Dave Portnoy and Erika Nardini, would back me up here — we didn’t need a bunch of pow-wows to know this was the real deal.
Alright, break down this Barstool deal for me.
Check it out, we crafted this baby so we’d soak up Barstool Sports piece by piece over a couple of years. Kicked it off with a 36% stake, but with an express lane to full ownership by year three.
The Chernin Group had the biggest slice of Barstool and they were all about the cash-out, which was cool ’cause what we really wanted were the stars, the content gurus, and the mavericks at Barstool.
The sweetener for the Barstool brass was mostly in stocks, unfolding over time. First round valued the team at $450 mil, and the final half of ownership hinged on fair market value.
We got our bases covered with safeguards. So there’s a minimum of double Barstool’s revenue by the third birthday and a max valuation cap of $650 mil.
And between us, we’re on the same page with Barstool peeps that the final half is definitely pegged at $650 mil ‘cause, between you and me, Barstool’s worth its weight in gold way beyond that today.
So you’ve got David Handler, a Centerview banking guru, as your chairman. That’s gotta be pretty unique, right?
David’s been our ace since Penn went public, then he jumped aboard. The guy’s a legend in banking, advisory, and tech. Having a mind like that in your corner? Priceless. He’s the one we lean on as we’re shifting gears from classic casino play to something way, way bigger.
Big Moves in Soccer and Telecom
So, get this: Advent International is totally eyeing a chunk of France’s top soccer league’s new media rights endeavor. We’re talking about the playground of soccer legends like Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. My buddies David Hellier and Irene García Pérez spilled the beans on this. European soccer clubs are really feeling the pinch after the pandemic, and David Hellier let slip that around 100 might latch onto a fresh lending platform prepped by UEFA.
Then there’s the media tycoon, John Malone, and his empire, Liberty Global. They’re mulling over the idea of carving out their telecom gear — think cables, fiber, the whole shebang. Thomas Seal got the scoop. This would streamline their biz to zero in on mobile, internet, and TV services.
And check this out: Scientific Games, those folks churning out slot machines cnn, are turning heads over at Apollo Global Management and Brookfield Asset Management’s private equity arm. Michelle F. Davis and the crew are all over the story. Rumor has it, their global lotteries biz could be worth a whopping $7.5 billion. That’s a lot of coins!
Meanwhile, the British supermarket giant J Sainsbury is like, ""Nah, we’re good,"" to selling their bank services gig. They’ve crunched the numbers and decided it ain’t worth it for the shareholders. Now, they’re all about streamlining, according to what they said.
Oh, and talk about family drama! Edward Rogers got the boot as chairman from Rogers Communications’ board, and he’s not having any of it. He’s plotting a comeback with a plan to oust five directors who gave him the thumbs down. Derek Decloet and Scott Deveau are following this soap opera in one of Canada’s biggest companies, smack in the middle of a huge $16 billion takeover bid for Shaw.
Eye on the IPO Prize
Now, waving the flag for India’s digital payment scene is Paytm, with SoftBank patting their back. They’ve snagged the green light from the market watchdogs for a massive $2.2 billion IPO. Saritha Rai is keeping tabs on that.
Not to be outdone, Kakao Pay, South Korea’s payment champ, bagged a sweet $1.3 billion in their IPO, hitting the high notes in the pricing game. They’ve got Jack Ma’s Ant Group in their corner and hit the market hot on the heels of their sibling, KakaoBank, and their own mega IPO earlier this year bbc.
Plus, don’t miss the rundown on all the U.S. companies that jumped into the public pool on Thursday: Vita Coco, Portillo’s, P10, and Enfusion. It was like an IPO party!
The Meme Stock Madness
Let’s talk memes and stocks. If you were to whip up the ultimate meme stock concoction, it’d probably look a heck of a lot like the one Donald Trump just tossed into the stock market stew. Chris Bryant’s got the lowdown on how this blank-check craze is the lovechild of identity politics and freewheeling retail bets.
And oh boy, the plot thickens: Saba Capital Management bailed big time on their stake in Digital World Acquisition Corp. once they caught wind it was pairing up with Trump’s new media venture.
Activist Investors Stirring the Pot
So, Starboard Value’s gone and planted their flag in Willis Towers Watson, and they’re not shy about saying the insurance broker’s shares could soar high—nearly double—within three years. Jeff Smith, the big kahuna at Starboard, is convinced Willis Towers is a hidden gem that’s been stuck in the mud due to shoddy execution and a bunch of broken promises since 2016. He’s out there, making waves!
