LONDON: DAZN Group, the British-based digital sports media company owned by the billionaire Len Blavatnik, is reportedly in end-stage talks to sell its football website Goal.com to US-based investment firm TPG Capital.
The New York Times reports that TPG, which counts Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Spotify and Vice in its broad portfolio, would be acquiring Goal through one of its affiliates for $125 million.
The sale of Goal, which offers content in 19 languages, would provide a much needed cash infusion for DAZN, which has invested billions of dollars on sports rights for its streaming platform, and has has been hit hard in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Financial Times reported last month that DAZN’s need for liquid cash has grown throughout the pandemic.
According to NYT, The sale talks began 12 months ago as a part of DAZN’s plans to focus and develop the cash-intensive streaming enterprise.
The disposal of Goal echoes the far bigger sale in April 2019 of DAZN’s Perform subsidiary to Vista Equity Partners for a reported $1 billion.
Blavatnik has wagered massively on DAZN, which is described as the Netflix of sports.
News of the potential sale comes as Blavatnik on Wednesday cashed in a part of his stake in Warner Music for $1.9 billion.
