Women’s sport to see increased M&A activity as more investors ‘begin to take note’
The global women’s sports market will see more investment activity and attract an expanding group of investors this year, according to Deloitte’s 2024 Sports Investment Outlook report.
Confirmed:
- Firm expects more investor classes, including institutional investors, private equity funds and high net worth individuals, to ‘begin to take note’ of women’s sport’s continued growth
- Women’s sport properties are predicted to create standalone commercial entities to align with growing appetite for investment
- Deloitte also expects sports such as cycling, sailing and padel to attract investment given their increasing popularity, as well as a surge in minority investment in ‘premium sports assets’
- Valuation gap between premium and non-premium sports assets with ‘challenging growth prospects’ is projected to widen
- Deloitte states some may look to invest in sports-adjacent segments, such as real estate, branding and athlete representation agencies, as well as in hospitality providers
Context:
According to Deloitte, women’s sport-only properties accounted for 14 per cent of all sports investment deals in 2023, with an extra 34 per cent of agreements focused on mixed properties involving both a men’s and women’s rights holder.
These investments were largely focused on soccer, basketball and cricket properties, with teams in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the Women’s Premier League (WPL) attracting significant investment.
The firm also found that 45 per cent of all deals last year were minority investments, driven mainly by strong activity in premium North American sports properties.
Meanwhile, soccer was the sport that attracted the most investment, comprising 52 per cent of all deals. English soccer continued to be a major draw for investors, making up 29 per cent of all soccer-related transactions.
Comment:
‘2023 saw continued growth in the women’s sports market and in 2024 we expect to see an expanding group of investors – including institutional investors, private equity and high net worth individuals – begin to take note,’ reads Deloitte’s report.
‘With deeper pools of capital forming and investing in the segment, including private equity funds with an exclusive mandate to invest in women’s sport, we expect rights holders and their key stakeholders to redefine the women’s sport investment case to attract required growth capital.’
Coming next:
Deloitte expects the ‘NewCo’ commercial entity, which was established in November to operate the Women’s Super League (WSL) and Women’s Championship in the UK, to attract major investment in 2024 and beyond.
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