🔊 Why CVC Is Investing Millions Into This Niche Sports League & Media Platform

This week, CVC’s Global Sport Group (GSG) announced a deal to acquire Equine Network from Growth Catalyst Partners.

Equine Network operates one of the largest equestrian competition platforms in the world, spanning roughly 40 events across disciplines like team roping, showjumping, and ranch sorting.

The acquisition adds another property to GSG’s growing global sports portfolio, which already includes stakes in La Liga, Ligue 1, the WTA, Volleyball World, and three major rugby competitions: Six Nations Rugby, Premiership Rugby, and the United Rugby Championship.

The acquisition is expected to close in Q2 of this year.

Why This Matters?

At first thought, an Equestrian league and media platform doesn’t necessarily seem like an attractive acquisition target.

But behind the scenes, this deal makes a lot of sense for GSG’s portfolio.

It fits perfectly into their strategy: owning the infrastructure underneath global sports categories with loyal audiences, recurring events, and under-monetized commercial opportunities.

And Equine Network checks the necessary boxes:

In other words, it’s a sport that has high demand, but lacks a modern, scaled commercial platform.

That’s where GSG steps in.

GSG is building a diversified global portfolio of sports platforms that generate predictable revenue from media, sponsorship, and events.

Whether it’s tennis, rugby, volleyball, or now equestrian, the gameplan is the same:

Private capital is looking beyond “top-tier” sports and into foundational categories.

The sports and leagues with strong participation, but limited institutional ownership, and underrated, long-term upside.

Equestrian might not dominate social media feeds or be the most notable sport, but it has something just as valuable: loyalty, legacy, and spending power.

And for firms like CVC, that’s exactly the point.

It’s not about chasing the loudest.

It’s about investing in the right ones.

• Anta Sports Acquires Majority Stake In Puma. Anta Sports $ANPDF ( ▲ 7.16% ), China's biggest sportswear brand, announced a deal to buy a 29.06% stake ​in Puma $PUMA ( 0.0% ) from Groupe Artémis and the Pinault family for €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion), making it now the largest shareholder in the German sportswear company. The deal builds on Anta’s efforts to expand its foothold outside of China (more here).

• Orreco Acquires Jennis. Orreco, an AI-driven performance science company, has acquired Jennis, a women’s health and performance platform co-founded by Olympian and three-time world heptathlon champion Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill. Financial details around the acquisition were not disclosed (more here).

• Range Sports Acquires Superfly. Range Sports, a representation, marketing, and production company, has acquired Superfly, an experiential marketing company. This is the sixth acquisition Range Sports has made in the last three years. Financial details around the acquisition were not disclosed (more here).

• Decathlon Pulse Acquires Majority Stake In Rebike Mobility. Decathlon, a French sporting goods company, has acquired a majority stake in Rebike Mobility, Germany's largest e-bike recommerce company. Decathlon purchased the shares through its venture capital arm, Decathlon Pulse, further increasing its existing stake. Financial details around the acquisition were not disclosed (more here).

• WSC Sports Acquires Partnerbrite. WSC Sports, a sports-focused video content provider, has acquired Partnerbrite, a UK-based digital sponsorship activation platform. Partnerbite’s platform manages digital sponsorships and will provide WSC Sports with tools to plan, launch, and measure sponsorships. Financial details around the acquisition were not disclosed (more here).

• Bolt Ventures, Main Street Advisors & IKON Capital Acquire MotoGP's Tech3 Team. Tech3 MotoGP racing team has been acquired by Bolt Ventures, David Blitzer’s family office, Main Street Advisors, IKON Capital, and several other prominent investors for a reported $50 million. Former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner has been named the CEO of the team (more here).

• AO Ventures Announces Four Investments. AO Ventures, the venture capital arm of Tennis Australia and the Australian Open, has made four initial investments out of its recently raised $40 million fund. The four companies include Bolt6, Raven Controls, Mindspring Padel, and Padel Haus. Financial details around the specific investments were not disclosed (more here).

• The Realest Raises $12M. The Realest, a marketplace and authentication standard for physical memorabilia, has raised $12 million in growth funding. EnOne Ventures led the round. Additional investors include Elysian Park Ventures, the PGA of America, Interlock Partners, Entrepreneur Ventures, KB Partners, Alumni Ventures, and BAM Ventures (more here).

• Arkero Raises $6M. Arkero, a platform using AI to support operations of complex organizations in sport, has raised $6 million in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Roger Ehrenberg at Game Changers Ventures, with participation from Alexis Ohanian (776), David Tisch (BoxGroup), Garuda Ventures, Founders’ Co-op, and strategic investors including Adrian Hanauer of the Seattle Sounders and Seattle Reign (more here).

• MyARC Raises $2M. MyARC, a London-based platform that enables fitness creators to train their communities, raised $2 million+ in funding. The round was led by Araya Ventures, Morgan Stanley, Techstars, and G Fund. The company intends to use the funds to develop its platform and expand its global growth initiatives (more here).

• TOGETHXR Invests In Sportsish. Togethxr, a women-focused media and commerce company, announced a collaboration and equity investment in Sportsish, and its founder, Lily Shimashi, to celebrate women’s sports and women who are fans of all sports. The deal will include a new series in development and on-the-ground coverage at major sporting events. Financial details around the investments were not disclosed (more here).

• MLS & Polymarket Announce Partnership. The MLS has announced a multi-year partnership with Polymarket, designating the platform as the league's and Leagues Cup's official and exclusive prediction market partner. The partnership also grants Polymarket exclusive rights across the MLS All-Star Game, MLS Cup presented by Audi, and the entire Leagues Cup tournament (more here).

• Whitehouse & Fanatics Announce Partnership. The White House has launched a new initiative in collaboration with Fanatics and multiple major professional sports organizations, including MLB, MLS, NASCAR, the NBA, the NFL, the NHL, the UFC, and WWE. Complete details of the initiative have not yet been made public, but the involvement of Fanatics suggests that fan engagement and consumer outreach will form key components of the strategy (more here).

• Formula E & Google Cloud Extend Partnership. Formula E, the all-electric motor racing series, has expanded its technology partnership with Google Cloud, the cloud computing arm of the global tech giant, becoming the competition’s principal partner. The multi-year agreement sees Google Cloud named Formula E’s principal AI partner, with the series set to adopt more Google Cloud technologies for its business, including the company’s Gemini AI models to “accelerate performance (more here).

• Luka Dončić Launches Direct-To-Fan Platform. The Lakers superstar officially announced the launch of 77X, a new digital-first company designed to bring fans closer to everything he creates, from entertainment and merchandise to live experiences and community-driven content. At the core of the venture is Fan Pass, a free membership platform now live at 77x.world. Through Fan Pass, Dončić becomes the first athlete to centralize content, products, events, and fan interaction into a single, direct-to-fan ecosystem that he fully owns and controls (more here).

• Travis Kelce Becomes Strategic Partner & Investor In Sleep Number. Three-time Super Bowl champ Travis Kelce has become an investor and a strategic partner in Sleep Number Corporation. Kelce will become one of Sleep Number’s top shareholders with under 5% ownership. He will acquire common stock in the company on the open market and be granted compensatory restricted stock units that will vest over the initial three-year term of the relationship, subject to customary vesting conditions. Kelce will also be featured in Sleep Number’s national ad campaigns (more here).

• Manu Ginobili Invests In Sports Performance Hub. Manu Gin­o­bili, the long­-time San Ant­o­nio Spurs star and four-time NBA cham­pion, is among the investors behind the planned Sports Per­form­ance Hub, a $280 mil­lion sports per­form­ance project in South Flor­ida that blends elite ath­let­ics, aca­dem­ics, and com­munity devel­op­ment. The project includes a pro­posed 10,000-seat sta­dium for Miami FC, along with bas­ket­ball and sports train­ing facil­it­ies, aca­demic build­ings, a board­ing school, a hotel, and per­form­ance tech­no­logy cen­ters (more here).

• How Derrick Rose Is Transitioning To A Businessman. On January 25th, the Chicago Bulls retired Derrick Rose’s No. 1 jersey. He became the fifth player in franchise history to receive the honor, joining the iconic Michael Jordan. Recently, the former NBA MVP joined Forbes at the Nasdaq MarketSite to discuss his career, his new book, and his post-basketball business ideas, which include a flower shop, a sports hydration company, a real estate development firm, and more (more here).

• Jason Kidd Becomes Board Member For Youth Sports Platform. Prep Network, a youth sports platform spanning live events, subscription content, and collegiate athlete recruitment, has announced NBA Hall of Famer and Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd to its Board of Directors. Prep Network said it plans to draw on Kidd’s perspective as an athlete, coach, and youth sports advocate as it grows its national event footprint and expands content aimed at athletes, families, and coaches (more here).

• Sergio Ramos Signs A Preliminary Agreement To Acquire Sevilla FC. Real Madrid star Sergi Ramos has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire full ownership of Spanish La Liga club Sevilla FC. If confirmed as Sevilla’s new owner, Ramos, who is currently without a club after leaving Mexican side Monterrey and has not officially retired, is expected to usher in changes at the top of the club’s leadership. Financial details of the transaction are still in discussions (more here).

• Brooklyn Nets & Liberty Owners Back New Women's Health, Sports & Performance Institute. Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty co-owner Clara Wu Tsai announced an investment in The Women's Health, Sports & Performance Institute, a female athlete-focused organization. She has committed $50 million in funding from the company's ownership group, led by co-founders Dr. Kathryn Ackerman, David and Jane Ott, and Wu Tsai. The institute, which works with the International Olympic Committee and the US and Paralympic Committee, is the first "one-stop shop" to combine female athlete-focused research, education, and medical care under one roof (more here).

This week’s guest on the Vetted Sports podcast is Colin Rasmussen & Subomi Odunowo.

Colin Rasmussen is the President & Co-Founder at Nairobi City Thunder (NCT), and Subomi Odunowo is the Head of Emerging Markets at Chiron Sports Group.

NCT is Kenya's #1 basketball brand. In just two years, Colin and his team have transformed Nairobi City Thunder from a small community club into Kenya’s most successful basketball team, with a rapidly growing fanbase (over 250,000 followers) and a leading, next-generation sports business.

The club has transformed its operations and delivered historic results - winning back-to-back undefeated Kenya Basketball Premier League titles and becoming the first Kenyan team to qualify for the NBA’s Basketball Africa League in 2024 and again in 2025.

NCT has emerged as one of Africa’s most compelling basketball success stories, built on operational excellence, local investment, and a long-term vision.

In this episode, we discuss:
‣ The brand strategy behind NCT & how it became Africa's most followed team
‣ The BAL league & how investors should be thinking about African basketball
‣ What the future of basketball in Africa will look like over the next decade

Check out the full episode here: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

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