The US private equity company Dyal HomeCourt Partners roughly purchased a 6% stake in the Atlanta Hawks, a notable franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). This investment took the value of the veteran team to around two billion dollars.
In this deal, the investment firm grabbed the stake cumulatively from nine other minority shareholders of the team which excluded the Hawks’ principal owner Tony Ressler. He is the majority owner of the team who purchased it for 850 million dollars in 2015 and would maintain his original stake in the team. This signing is the result of the NBA’s updated policy which permitted private equity investment in the league’s teams.
Appreciating the deal, Tony Ressler said, “We welcome the influx of institutional capital as a validation for the hard work that the Hawks front office and basketball operations management and staff have undertaken during our ownership group’s tenure.”
Dyal HomeCourt Partners is managed by Dyal Capital, which is a division of the asset management firm, Blue Owl Capital. On this acquisition, Michael Rees, the co-president of Blue Owl said, “Partnering with Tony [Ressler] and the Hawks is an exciting prospect given the strong growth the franchise has achieved over the past few years. In addition to a stellar management team, the franchise benefits from being located in one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country. We look forward to working together and are excited for what the future holds, both on and off the court.”
David Haber, the Chief Financial Officer of the NBA commented on this deal and said, “The partnership between the Atlanta Hawks and Dyal HomeCourt Partners continues to demonstrate the value and growth potential that institutional investors see in NBA franchises. We’re excited to have Dyal forge its third partnership with an NBA team and look forward to the continued expansion of their investment model across the league.”
With this move, Dyal now holds minority stakes in three popular franchises of the NBA and have created a strong presence. Recently the firm gained an approximate 5% stake in the Phoenix Suns and also holds a significant stake in Sacramento Kings.