Fenway Sports Group

On the first episode of season two of PE Deals, Ian Charles and Sam Kennedy discuss Fenway Sports Group.

Ian Charles is the founder and Managing Partner of Arctos Sports Partners, a private equity platform dedicated to the professional sports industry and sports franchise owners. He was a previous guest on Capital Allocators alongside his co-founder Doc O’Connor, and that conversation is replayed in the feed.

Sam Kennedy is the longtime President and CEO of Arctos portfolio company, Fenway Sports Group.

FSG is a twenty-year-old global sports, marketing, media, entertainment and real estate portfolio that has taken cherished and iconic sports clubs to new heights. The business includes ownership of the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool Football Club, and Pittsburgh Penguins, and a series of related real estate and media assets.

Our conversation covers the Fenway Sports Group holdings, business drivers, and attractiveness as an investment. We discuss Arctos’ sourcing, underwriting, and perceived risks of the deal, and then turn to Sam’s operating strategy, tuck-in acquisition of the Pittsburgh Penguins, importance of fielding winning teams, impact of private institutional capital, capital structure, on-field product, and future plans.

Long-time listeners likely know about my affinity for sports, so it is a great privilege to share this discussion of Arctos’ investment in FSG with you, and a special bonus to have Sam walking through how it works.