Learfield, the major college sports multimedia rights holder, is finalizing a sale to private equity firm TPG, industry sources confirmed to On3 on Monday night. An official announcement is expected on Tuesday morning.
The sale price is roughly $1.8 to $2 billion, sources told On3. TPG will have a controlling stake in Learfield. The news of the sale does not come as a surprise as Learfield has been engaged in high-level conversations around a potential sale for months.
It’s a clear entry point for TPG to enter the college athletics space. TPG is effectively purchasing Learfield’s client base. Learfield is viewed as one of the leading third-party multimedia rights partners in college sports. The company works with over 140 Division I institutions, but top brands include Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas Tech and USC.
Learfield reduced its outstanding debt by over $600 million while securing $150 million in new equity investment in September 2023. Learfield’s debt had accumulated over time, but specifically from three distinctive reasons. The Texas-based firm’s spending on acquisitions ultimately led to a merger with IMG College in 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic brought much of college sports to a halt, including fans in seats. Contracts with institutional partners that were structured over market value also proved to be notable.
The multimedia rights partner mostly sat on the sidelines in NIL until recent years, turning Compass, which has been primarily used as the athlete opt-in platform for major licensing campaigns like Fanatics and EA Sports College Football 25, into a dealmaking platform in 2024.
With the new revenue-sharing era of college athletics, brand deals have been facilitated through Learfield properties at schools like Ohio State and Tennessee. The deals have been critical to getting dollars to top athletes with the new College Sports Clearinghouse. Learfield has also facilitated multiple jersey patch sponsorship deals with new NCAA legislation set to take effect in August.
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