Financial Partners are RedBird Capital,
Blackstone and Mubadala Capital
Yankee Global Enterprises, with strategic partners Sinclair
Broadcast Group (NASDAQ:SBGI) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), today
announced the purchase of the YES Network (“YES”) from The Walt
Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), acquiring the 80 percent of the YES
Network not already held by Yankee Global Enterprises at a total
enterprise value of $3.47 billion. Additional equity investments
were provided by RedBird Capital, funds managed by Blackstone’s
Tactical Opportunities business, and Mubadala Capital.
The YES Network is the country’s most-watched regional sports
network (RSN), broadcasting games, programs and specialty content
for the New York Yankees, the Brooklyn Nets, Major League Soccer’s
New York City FC, and the WNBA’s New York Liberty.
Since its launch in 2002, the YES Network has earned 118 Emmy
Awards and has consistently been ranked as one of the most valuable
sports business brands in the world. In addition to televising 128
regular season Yankees games per season, the YES Network also airs
pre-and postgame shows; Yankeeography, the Emmy award-winning
biography series on past and present Yankees greats; and Yankees
Magazine, the weekly magazine show consisting of Yankees
highlights, player profiles, behind-the-scenes features and
interviews.
The new strategic partnership leverages the expertise and market
reach of three highly successful companies - Yankee Global
Enterprises, one of the world’s leading sports brands; Sinclair
Broadcast Group, a diversified media company and leading provider
of local sports and news; and Amazon, the innovative, multinational
technology company. The three companies will work together to
enhance the network and position it strategically to continue its
leadership in sports broadcasting across all forms of distribution.
Jon Litner will remain in his existing role as President of the YES
Network.
Yankee Global Enterprises will contribute its excellence in
developing, producing and marketing sports content that is
compelling for fans globally. Sinclair, which is the owner of 22
RSN brands and the Tennis Channel, as well as the owner, operator,
and service provider to 191 television stations in 89 markets, will
work with the YES team management to manage traditional and virtual
distribution relationships.
“This transaction brings the YES Network and all of its popular
programming even closer to the organization that inspired its very
development,” said Hal Steinbrenner, CEO, Yankee Global
Enterprises. “Along with our partners, we look forward to greatly
expanding the way that sports content is delivered and consumed by
fans everywhere.”
“Throughout its nearly two-decades on-air, the YES Network has
set the gold standard for regional sports coverage,” said Randy
Levine, President, New York Yankees. “We look forward to working
with our strategic partners and our investors - RedBird Capital,
Blackstone and Mubadala Capital - to expand the network in
innovative and exciting ways.”
“There are very few sports brands in the world as great as the
New York Yankees that offer impressive reach and recognition,” said
Chris Ripley, President and CEO, Sinclair Broadcast Group. “We look
forward to working with our partners to develop and deliver
top-notch play action and sports programming for the fans.”
The partnership received equity investments from three leading
financial investors: RedBird Capital, funds managed by Blackstone’s
Tactical Opportunities business, and Mubadala Capital.
“The Yankees have assembled a tremendous ownership group to
steward YES as the premier regional sports network in the country,”
said Gerry Cardinale, Managing Partner of RedBird Capital. “It has
been a privilege to work with the Yankees and the Steinbrenner
family for almost two decades since we created the YES Network back
in 2001. We are excited to continue this partnership and to be part
of this team.”
Todd Hirsch, a Senior Managing Director in Blackstone’s Tactical
Opportunities business, said, “The YES Network is a first-class
brand in the sports media industry – much like the iconic team that
inspired its creation. It has unrivaled and in-demand content that
fans love, and we’re excited about the opportunity to partner with
this exceptional investor group to help fuel its continued success
moving forward.”
“The opportunity to invest in the YES Network as part of this
consortium is a natural extension of our relationship with the
Yankees organization,” said Hani Barhoush, Head of Mubadala
Capital. “It is also squarely in-line with our private equity
strategy and our history and track record of identifying high
quality content assets managed by top quality management teams and
supported by strong ownership groups.”
About the YES Network The
YES Network, the most-watched regional sports network in the
country in 14 of the past 16 years, owns the exclusive local TV
rights of the 27-time World Champion New York Yankees, the Brooklyn
Nets, Major League Soccer's New York City FC and the WNBA's New
York Liberty. YES, which has earned 118 Emmy Awards since its 2002
launch, also televises original biography, interview and magazine
programs, college sports and Manchester City soccer. YES has made
the list of Forbes' top 10 most valuable sports business brands in
the world for eight straight years.
About Sinclair Broadcast
Group Sinclair is a diversified media company and
leading provider of local sports and news. Including YES, the
Company owns and/or operates 23 regional sports network brands;
owns, operates and/or provides services to 191 television stations
in 89 markets; is a leading local news provider in the country;
owns multiple national networks; and has TV stations affiliated
with all the major broadcast networks. Sinclair’s content is
delivered via multiple-platforms, including over-the-air,
multichannel video program distributors, and digital platforms. The
Company regularly uses its website as a key source of Company
information which can be accessed at www.sbgi.net.
About RedBird Capital
Partners RedBird Capital Partners is a principal
investment firm which provides flexible, long-term capital to help
entrepreneurs grow their businesses. Based in New York and Dallas,
RedBird seeks investment opportunities in growth-oriented private
companies in which its capital, investor network and strategic
relationships enable business owners to achieve their corporate
objectives. Founded by former Goldman Sachs Partner Gerald
Cardinale in 2014, RedBird has invested and/or led $2.5 billion of
equity to support its entrepreneur-led platforms, connecting
patient capital with business founders to help them outperform
operationally, financially and strategically. For more information,
please go to www.redbirdcap.com
About Blackstone & Blackstone
Tactical Opportunities Blackstone is one of the world’s
leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic
impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we
invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by
using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies
solve problems. Our asset management businesses, with $545 billion
in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused on
private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, growth equity,
opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and
secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is
available at www.blackstone.com.
Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.
Tactical Opportunities (Tac Opps) is Blackstone's opportunistic
investment platform. The Tac Opps team invests globally across
asset classes, industries and geographies, seeking to identify and
execute on attractive, differentiated investment opportunities. As
part of the strategy, the team leverages the intellectual capital
across Blackstone’s various businesses while continuously
optimizing its approach in the face of ever-changing market
conditions.
About Mubadala Capital
Mubadala Capital was established in 2011 as the financial
investment arm of Mubadala, operating six integrated businesses
focused on various asset classes and geographies that include
private equity, public equities, credit, venture, sovereign
investment partnerships and Brazil. The group invests globally
across the capital structure in both public and private securities,
whether directly or through third-party managed funds. In addition
to managing its own balance sheet investments, Mubadala Capital
manages third party capital on behalf of institutional investors in
three of its businesses, including through three private equity
funds and two early stage venture funds. Mubadala Capital is based
in the Abu Dhabi Global Market.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190829005737/en/
For Yankee Global Enterprises: Alice McGillion / Rubenstein
212-843-8039 / AMcGillion@Rubenstein.com
For Sinclair Broadcast Group: Michael Padovano / 5W 646-843-1800
/ mpadovano@5wpr.com
For Amazon: Laura Gunning amazon-pr@amazon.com
For RedBird Capital Partners: Dan Gagnier / Gagnier
Communications 646-569-5897 / dg@gagnierfc.com
For Blackstone and Blackstone Tactical Operations: Matt Anderson
212-390–2472 / Matthew.Anderson@Blackstone.com
For Mubadala Capital: Nadine Saleh Hassan +971 2 4130042 /
nhassan@mubadala.ae
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