As someone who’s previously been involved with professional sports franchise purchase and sale transactions, a couple of stories caught my eye last week.
First, the National Hockey League’s Ottawa Senators are up for sale. The board of directors of Senators Sports & Entertainment, which operates the pro hockey franchise, recently announced the engagement of Galatioto Sports Partners to explore potential transactions and that the sale process has been initiated. A Sportico article from earlier this month pegged the Senators’ value at $655 million. Observers of the space may be quick to note that potential relocation is an issue often raised when an NHL franchise, particularly a Canadian team, is on the market. According to reports, a condition of a sale in this case will be that the Senators remain in Ottawa.
Second, Fenway Sports Group (FSG) recently confirmed that it would be open to a sale of Liverpool F.C. FSG acquired the professional football club in 2010 and reportedly has engaged Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to facilitate a deal. With a full sales presentation in hand, FSG is apparently ready and willing to listen to offers from interested suitors. My colleague Bijan Ameli also wrote about the potential sale earlier this week and interestingly noted that FSG has been linked to a possible acquisition of the National Football League’s Washington Commanders franchise.