Latest news with #PremiershipRugby
The Star
21-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
CVC to refinance US$12bil sports portfolio
Scotland's Rory Sutherland in action with Ireland's Andrew Porter at an instalment of the Six Nations Championship at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland, on February 9, 2025. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne LUXEMBOURG: CVC Capital Partners PLC has kicked off a refinancing of its sports assets portfolio, valued at more than £9bil (US$12bil), Sky News reports. The buyout firm hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc, PJT Partners Inc and the Raine Group LLC to advise on the deal, which would likely involve raising new debt, according to Sky, citing sources it didn't name. A spokesperson for CVC declined to comment to Bloomberg. CVC holds stakes in Six Nations and Premiership Rugby as well as top-tier football leagues in France and Spain. It also has interests in international volleyball, the women's professional tennis tour and Indian Premier League cricket. The move could also open the door to an initial public offering, Sky said. — Bloomberg Trading ideas: SD Guthrie, Chin Hin, Globetronics, KTI, Silver Ridge, PTT, Capital A, Enproserve, 3REN, TCS, TH, Pestec, CIMB
The Star
18-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Rugby-Still flash, but Russell brings true grit to Lions playmaker role
Rugby Union - Premiership Rugby - Final - Bath Rugby v Leicester Tigers - Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, London, Britain - June 14, 2025 Bath Rugby's Finn Russell celebrates after converting a penalty Action Images/Matthew Childs/ File Photo BRISBANE (Reuters) -Finn Russell may be on his third British & Irish Lions tour but the 32-year-old Scotland flyhalf will wear the red number 10 shirt for the first time in a test on Saturday when he takes the field against Australia. Russell's test experience with the tourists has been limited to 69 minutes as a replacement for Dan Biggar in the 2021 decider after injury had prevented him from playing the first two matches against the Springboks. In 2017 in New Zealand, Russell was one of the Geography Six -- half a dozen players called up solely for one midweek match against the Wellington Hurricanes to protect the test squad in a move coach Warren Gatland later said he regretted. On Saturday, the 32-year-old with the unerring boot and ability to turn a defence inside out finally gets his chance to lead the Lions backline from the start of a test after being one of Andy Farrell's least controversial selections. Russell has been working in Australia with assistant coach Johnny Sexton, the former Ireland flyhalf who previously suggested that Russell had beaten him to a spot on the 2021 tour because Gatland considered him "flashy" and a "media darling". "He's still flash. Yeah, he would hate if I said he wasn't," Sexton joked to reporters on Friday. "But no, I think in the last couple of years, he's really come into his own as a 10 and being able to manage the team. "Ultimately, that's the main job that he's got tomorrow, to manage all the guys around him, and then his brilliance will come out once he's into the game." Sexton said he had been impressed with the work the apparently carefree Russell does on his game behind the scenes as well as with his defensive efforts in the tour matches. "He's probably been our best defender in the back line on this tour so far, I would say," Sexton added. "And that's the thing that you always knew, that it was in there with him. He's a feisty guy out there in terms of physicality. He doesn't look that big but he's fronted up big time this tour with a lot of impact tackles. And we'll need him tomorrow in that regard, because they'll come down his channel I'm sure." Sexton said evidence of Russell's increased maturity had come when the Scot led Bath to the English Premiership title before joining up with the Lions. "You can see it with Bath, getting to finals and winning trophies," he added. "You can't do that if you're just that kind of mercurial 10, you know what I mean? You've seen that this year in particular. He's got his team over the line and he's won a few trophies and he's carried that form into here." (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Mitch Phillips)
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Northampton Saints sign Coventry winger Martin
Northampton Saints finished eighth in the 2024-25 Premiership after winning the title the season before [Getty Images] Premiership side Northampton Saints have signed winger James Martin from Coventry. The 25-year-old has made 82 Coventry appearances, scoring 44 tries, since signing for the Championship side in 2019. "I'm incredibly excited to join one of the very best teams in Europe," he told the club website. Advertisement "Saints' back three is stacked with talent, and there are internationals and Lions throughout the squad, so I'm looking forward to getting into the environment and working with them." Martin faced Northampton twice in last season's Premiership Rugby Cup, scoring a try when Coventry lost 50-23 to Saints in February. "He's been a standout player in the Championship over the past couple of seasons, leading the try-scoring charts for Coventry and showing consistently that he's an excellent finisher," said Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson. "He's quick, strong, and a smart operator on the wing who showed when we played Coventry last season that he can beat defenders and create opportunities out of nothing. Advertisement "He's hungry to prove himself at the next level, and when we spoke to him, it was clear that he's ambitious and wants to challenge himself in a Premiership environment. That mindset is so important to us."
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Former EE chief Allera joins team at CVC sports empire
The former boss of mobile phone network EE is taking on a powerful new role at the heart of a sports portfolio which includes interests in Six Nations Rugby, Spanish top-flight football and the women's global tennis tour. Sky News has learnt that Marc Allera, who stepped down as the boss of BT Group's consumer business earlier this year, has been appointed chairman of CVC SportsCo, a new entity aimed at providing more cohesive support to the buyout firm CVC Capital Partners' investments across the sector. The establishment of the new operating and investment group concept comes as CVC, the Amsterdam-listed private equity group, continues to diversify its sporting asset base. Money latest: Having made billions of dollars from its ownership of Formula One motor racing - one of the most lucrative deals in the history of sport - CVC has bought stakes in leagues and other assets spanning cricket, football, rugby union, tennis and volleyball over the last two decades. Its investment in the media rights to La Liga - Spain's equivalent of the Premier League - is expected to generate a handsome return for the firm, although a comparable deal in France has faced significant challenges amid broadcasters' financial challenges in the country. CVC's backing of global sports properties is intended to position it to maximise their commercial potential through new media and sponsorship rights deals, as well as their expansion into new formats aimed at drawing wider audiences amid rapid shifts in media consumption. In rugby union, its acquisition of a stake in Premiership Rugby's commercial rights was hit by the pandemic and the subsequent financial pressures on clubs which saw a number of the league's teams forced into insolvency. Sky News revealed earlier this year that CVC had extended further support to Newcastle Falcons as part of a broader financial package aimed at paving the way for the team's sale. Red Bull is reported to be the acquirer of Newcastle Falcons, with a deal expected imminently. CVC, which bought into Premiership Rugby in 2019, owns a 27% stake in the league. Under its stewardship, broadcast audiences and attendances have turned a corner, with total TV audiences up 40% this year - partly as a result of an increase in the number of games being shown. It recently agreed a more lucrative TV rights deal for the league. Sponsorship revenues are also said to have nearly doubled since CVC's initial investment, with fan interest among the crucial 18-34 age demographic rising by 30% during the last year. Its SportsCo strategy will see Mr Allera, who also chaired BT Sport, working across the CVC sports portfolio, with other executives expected to be recruited to assist the effort in due course. One source likened the initiative to the approach employed by the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH. They added that there would be parallels with the sharing of best practice used at US basketball's NBA through its TeamBusinessOperations (TeamBO) unit to unlock collective opportunities and drive further long-term growth projects. CVC's sporting assets will continue to remain autonomous and independent of one another, the source said. One expected benefit of the SportsCo approach would be the sourcing of new investment opportunities in future years, with another likely to mean CVC remaining a stakeholder in its existing portfolio for a longer duration. The firm was recently outbid in an auction of major tennis tournaments by Ari Emanuel, the Endeavor founder whose company was also the seller of the assets. Global sports properties have become one of the hottest growth areas for private capital in recent years, with firms such as Ares Management, Silver Lake Partners and Bridgepoint all investing substantial sums in teams, leagues and other assets across the industry. Mr Allera already has connections to CVC as chairman of JagEx, the mobile gaming business it bought last year, and as a broader adviser to the private equity firm. He spent nine years running BT's consumer arm following its acquisition of EE. CVC declined to comment on Wednesday.
BBC News
18-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Canada prop Menin agrees new contract with Exeter
Canada prop DaLeaka Menin has signed a new deal to stay at Exeter for the 2025-26 Premiership Women's Rugby 30-year-old has played 61 times for the Chiefs since joining in 2021 and has scored 10 tries for the is currently with the Canada squad preparing to tour South Africa before this year's World Cup in England. "DaLeaka has been the cornerstone of our pack for the last three years," interim head coach Steve Salvin said."Her front-row partnership with Emily Tuttosi and Hope Rogers has been the platform for so many of our best performances."However, DaLeaka in the loose is also a terrifying prospect, as we saw in PAC4. "I am so pleased she has chosen to stay with us for what we hope will be an exciting season for the Chiefs."
