Acquisition
KKR to Acquire Sports‑team Investor Arctos for $1.4 Billion
•February 19, 2026
0
Participants
Why It Matters
The surge in hedge‑fund managers’ earnings from sports ownership signals a new, lucrative intersection of finance and athletics, reshaping investment strategies and capital flows across both sectors.
Key Takeaways
- •Cohen earned $3.4B, topping hedge fund earnings list.
- •Tepper earned $3.2B, second highest hedge fund compensation.
- •Sports ownership drives hedge fund managers' income growth.
- •Private equity deals expand access to sports team investments.
- •Family offices offer diversified sports team fund exposure.
Pulse Analysis
The 2025 Bloomberg rankings place Steve Cohen and David Tepper at the apex of hedge‑fund compensation, underscoring how ownership of high‑profile sports franchises can dramatically boost a manager’s bottom line. Both Cohen’s Point72 and Tepper’s Appaloosa have leveraged the branding, media rights, and revenue streams of MLB and NFL teams to generate earnings that dwarf traditional investment returns. This phenomenon reflects a broader shift where elite financiers view sports assets not merely as passion projects but as strategic, cash‑flow‑rich investments that complement their core portfolios.
Private‑equity firms are accelerating this convergence by acquiring specialized sports‑investment platforms, exemplified by KKR’s $1.4 billion purchase of Arctos. Such deals democratize access, allowing institutional and high‑net‑worth investors to buy fractional stakes in teams across the MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLS. Family offices and registered investment advisers are now structuring funds that bundle diverse team holdings, offering clients a hedge against the volatility of any single sport while tapping into the global fan‑base monetization trends. This diversification mirrors traditional asset‑allocation principles, but with the added allure of sports‑related branding and sponsorship revenue.
Looking ahead, the melding of hedge‑fund expertise with sports‑team ownership is likely to reshape capital markets. Regulatory clarity around minority stakes and the rise of secondary markets for sports equity could further lower entry barriers, inviting more capital into the sector. As managers like Cohen and Tepper demonstrate outsized earnings, other financial firms may pursue similar strategies, potentially driving up valuations of sports franchises and prompting a wave of innovative financing structures. Stakeholders should monitor how this dynamic influences both the competitive balance of leagues and the broader investment landscape.
Deal Summary
Private‑equity firm KKR announced a $1.4 billion acquisition of sports‑team investment platform Arctos earlier this month, expanding its footprint in the sports‑asset class. The deal highlights the growing interest of private‑equity firms in sports‑team ownership and related investment opportunities.
Article
Source: InvestmentNews – ETFs (tag)
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper rank as Bloomberg's highest‑paid hedge fund managers as sports investing becomes increasingly popular
A pair of sports‑team owners have topped Bloomberg’s list of the ten highest‑earning hedge‑fund managers of 2025.
Taking the top spot is New York Mets (MLB) owner Steve Cohen, who earned $3.4 billion last year as the CEO of Point72. Point72 Asset Management became an SEC‑registered investment adviser in 2018, the same year Cohen’s ban on managing outside capital expired after the SEC punished him on charges tied to employee insider trading at his former hedge fund, S.A.C. Capital Advisors.
Appaloosa Management hedge‑fund founder and president David Tepper ranks second on Bloomberg’s list behind Cohen. Tepper, who owns the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, earned $3.2 billion last year. The number three through eight spots on Bloomberg’s list of top hedge‑fund earners are, in order: Millennium’s Izzy Englander, TCI’s Chris Hohn, Citadel’s Ken Griffin, D1 Capital’s Dan Sundheim, D.E. Shaw’s David Shaw, Element’s Jeff Talpins, Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman, and Chris Rokos of Rokos Capital Management.
The convergence between sports investing and Wall Street has accelerated over the past few years as private equity became permitted to own minority stakes in teams across the MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLS. Private‑equity giant KKR struck a $1.4 billion deal earlier this month to buy leading sports‑team investor Arctos, signaling KKR’s plans to bring the sports asset class to high‑net‑worth and mass‑affluent investors.
“We work with a number of firms that are doing sports investing. Our families are typically not directly investing in sports teams, but there are a number of funds out there that give our clients access to a diversified pool of sports teams,” said Andrew Cooper, co‑head of family office at the New York‑based RIA Cerity Partners, told InvestmentNews.
“You can invest in a fund that’s going to invest in one NFL team, one Women’s Soccer League team, one European soccer league team. And I think in some ways, that provides clients diversification on the teams that they’re investing in,” Cooper added.
Peter Mallouk, a signature figure of the RIA industry given his time leading Creative Planning into one of the largest aggregator firms, is also expanding his sports‑ownership portfolio. Mallouk became a minority investor in MLB’s Kansas City Royals in 2019, and more recently became the majority owner of Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer as of January.
Fellow RIA industry leader Shirl Penney of Dynasty Financial Partners revealed to InvestmentNews in November that his firm supported a bid led by Alex Rodrigues and Jennifer Lopez to buy the Mets in 2020 before the ballclub was sold to Cohen for $2.4 billion.
0
Comments
Want to join the conversation?
Loading comments...