Apollo co-founder Josh Harris leads $1bn fundraising at Bruin Capital – Financial Times
Specialist sports investor Bruin Capital has raised $1bn from investors led by Apollo Global Management co-founder Josh Harris for a new investment vehicle that will target companies providing services and technology to sports teams around the world.
Harris’s investment firm 26North and private equity firm TJC are the lead backers for Bruin’s fourth and biggest investment vehicle since being founded in 2015.
Bruin’s plan is to invest in so-called second-level enablers in the sports ecosystem, such as data providers to sports betting groups or companies providing technology to build direct-to-consumer streaming platforms.
The firm’s executives compare these businesses to Germany’s Mittelstand — the small and medium-sized enterprises that form the backbone of Europe’s largest economy.
Sports teams and leagues are attracting growing levels of institutional investment, based partly on the notion that the industry is relatively insulated from global economic trends. Valuations for US sports teams in particular have been surging as investors seek to access the sector’s fast-growing media rights deals.
Bruin founder and chief executive George Pyne said that focusing on service providers, rather than teams, would enable investors to gain exposure to the sports industry at lower valuations.
“There are a lot of people who want to invest in sport but the team model doesn’t make sense for them,” said Pyne, a former IMG and Nascar executive. “I’m not going to transform the New York Giants, but we are able to transform the businesses we operate.”
Pyne said that Bruin would target “scalable” businesses with healthy cash flow, low capital expenditure and “reliable, recurring” revenues.
The firm’s portfolio includes the production house behind Formula 1 documentary series Drive to Survive, Box to Box Films and golf simulator company Full Swing.
Bruin’s past exits include luxury hospitality provider On Location, acquired by Endeavor in 2020, and Two Circles, a sports marketing agency sold last year to private equity firm Charterhouse for more than $300mn. About three-quarters of Bruin’s investments have been outside the US.
Harris, who left Apollo in 2022, has become a major sports investor, alongside Blackstone executive David Blitzer. The pair’s sporting assets include the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team, the New Jersey Devils ice hockey team and a minority stake in English Premier League club Crystal Palace.
Harris also led the $6bn acquisition of the Washington Commanders National Football League team in 2023, and last year paid $250mn to buy an expansion team in the Women’s NBA. Set up in 2022, 26North has just below $32bn in assets under management.
