Front Office Sports, a media platform covering the business of sports, announced its investor RedBird IMI has taken a majority stake in the company.
Led by CEO Jeff Zucker, RedBird IMI is a joint venture between RedBird Capital Partners and International Media Investments focused on building high-growth companies in media, entertainment, and sports. RedBird IMI made its first investment in Front Office Sports in November 2023 and has since acquired an additional stake in the company, buying out SC Holdings, FOS’ first investor.
“Front Office Sports has established itself as a great investment for RedBird IMI,” said Jeff Zucker, CEO of RedBird IMI and chair of FOS board of directors. “The company has grown its revenue by 85% year-over-year, and we’ve seen the business of sports become a mainstay in the media industry. RedBird IMI is focused on investing in cross-platform media companies that are breaking news, driving the cultural conversation, and capturing audiences in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Front Office Sports is deeply connected to the industry and poised for growth.”
“Over the past five years, Front Office Sports has consistently surpassed our expectations, achieving remarkable growth and scale while establishing a credible and relevant news brand,” said Jason Stein, managing partner of SC Holdings. “We are grateful to FOS founder and CEO Adam White for trusting us as partners from the beginning and for leading the company with vision and poise. Jeff and the RedBird IMI team are ideal partners for the next phase of growth at FOS. We look forward to their continued success together and to reading FOS every day.”
“RedBird IMI has been an incredible partner to Front Office Sports as we went through tremendous growth this past year, made new key hires, expanded our events programming, and more,” said Adam White, founder and CEO of Front Office Sports. “The expansion of this partnership will allow us to fully take advantage of the immense resources at RedBird IMI’s disposal and help us grow at this pinnacle time for the business of sports. I’m incredibly appreciative of the support SC Holdings gave us from day one and am excited for the next chapter of FOS.”
Closer to home, meanwhile, it is worth noting that RedBird Capital Partners, which also has interests in the parent company of Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox, holds a 15% stake in Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals.
RedBird made its investment in the IPL team in June 2021, well before the RedBird IMI JV was formed.
For the record, RedBird has been a prolific investor in building sports businesses in partnership with rights holders across the sports ecosystem globally. Some of the firm’s more recent sports investments include Fenway Sports Group (the corporate holding company of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC), Toulouse FC, the XFL with Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia, and the Yankees Entertainment & Sports (YES) Network. Over the years, RedBird’s investment partners have included a host of internationally renowned sports franchises and leagues, including the New York Yankees, the Dallas Cowboys, the National Football League, and multiple Players Associations across the NFL, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, United States Women’s National Soccer Team and Women’s National Basketball Association.
