Blavatnik’s firm pumps $4.3bn into sports media group DAZN
Billionaire investor Sir Leonard Blavatnik has announced a $4.3bn capital injection into sports media firm DAZN as the firm eyes an expansion into betting, gaming and NFTs.
Access Industries, Blavatnik’s holding firm and the principal shareholder of DAZN, has subscribed for $4.3bn of new share in the media firm, which it said would allow DAZN to “maintain its strong commercial momentum”.
DAZN hosts coverage of the Bundesliga in Germany and is home to more than 700 live and on-demand sport rights around the globe, and bosses said the the recapitalization by Access has left the group without any borrowings at the end of 2021.
The investment comes after Spain’s LaLiga soccer league in December sold its domestic broadcasting rights to Movistar and DAZN for 4.95 billion euros ($5.62 billion) over five years.
DAZN walked away from a deal to buy BT Sports , which would have given it the rights to broadcast the Premier League and Champions League matches.
Chairman of DAZN Kevin Mayer said the deal had “become uneconomical”, but he remained committed to growing his business in Britain.
The investment from Access comes as broadcasters and streaming giants like Amazon vie for rights to stream sporting events.
Amazon reportedly spent £90m on the three-year package of rights for Premier League matches.