Thread by @JoePompliano

Two of the wealthiest owners in sports history teamed up to build a billion-dollar company.

Time for a thread 👇👇👇

1) First, some history.

From a financial perspective, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and late NY Yankees owner George Steinbrenner are two of the best owners in sports history.

How so?

Let's take a look...

2) Jerry Jones purchased the Cowboys for $140M in 1989, but the team is worth almost $6B today.

George Steinbrenner bought the Yankees from CBS for $8.8M in 1973, but the team is worth $5B today.

Simply put, they're both legends.

Now, this is where it gets interesting.

3) In 2008, with both the Cowboys and Yankees moving into new stadiums, Jerry Jones and George Steinbrenner decided to partner up.

Their idea?

Legends Hospitality, a stadium and concessions management business serving sports & entertainment venues around the world.

4) In 2008, Legends Hospitality started small — managing concessions inside Yankee Stadium & AT&T Stadium.

In the years since, they've expanded — aggressively.

Legends now helps venues with everything from naming rights sales & sponsorships to ticketing & merchandising.

5) As Legends has increased their offering, their client base has expanded also.

Clients Include:
— Liverpool FC
— Wimbledon
— Manchester City
— LA Rams/Chargers
— Real Madrid
— Notre Dame
— Ohio State
— Las Vegas Raiders

Even more interesting?

The economics...

6) With the business growing, private equity firms took notice.

In 2017, New Mountain Capital bought a ~33% stake in Legends — valuing the business at $700M.

Now, just 3 years later, they're exiting the investment after doubling their money.

The buyer?

Sixth Street Partners.

7) PE firm Sixth Street Partners is buying 51% of Legends at a $1.35B valuation.

Along with New Mountain's 33% stake, Jerry Jones & the Steinbrenner family are selling 18% of their stake for $235M in cash — or ~$120M each.

The best part?

They'll still own 49% of the business.

8) Despite Jerry Jones & George Steinbrenner each already running a multi-billion-dollar business, they saw an opportunity and took full advantage of it.

By leveraging previous success & getting equity upside, they built another billion-dollar business.

Now that's legendary.

9) In the end, Jerry Jones and George Steinbrenner saw a market ripe for disruption and knew they had to get involved — no matter how successful they already were.

That's what all great entrepreneurs do.

Remember, winners win.

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