Latest news with #RaineGroup
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This Teen Built a Game on Roblox -- Then Sold It for Millions
Teen developers are striking gold on Roblox (NYSE:RBLX), and investors are quietly pouring in behind the scenes. A 19-year-old who built Blue Lock: Rivalsan anime-inspired soccer gamesold it for over $3 million just months after launch. At its peak, the title hit more than 1 million concurrent players and was generating roughly $5 million per month for Roblox. The buyer? Do Big Studios, a firm that's been actively snapping up hit titles across the platform, including Grow a Garden, which broke records in June with 21 million simultaneous playerssurpassing Fortnite. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 6 Warning Signs with RBLX. What's fueling this surge in deals is a structural shift in Roblox's ecosystem. A December platform update quietly made it easier for developers to transfer ownership of their gamessomething that used to violate Roblox's terms. That's opened the floodgates. Voldex, another acquisitive player, bought Brookhaven RP in February in a deal CEO Alex Singer described as bigger than Embracer Group's acquisition of Welcome to Bloxburg, which had been reported at around $100 million. Most of these deals are brokered on Discord. Many sellers remain anonymous. But behind the avatars, there's real moneyand increasing interest from capital providers like Raine Group and Shamrock Capital. Roblox's creator economy is now attracting serious financial attention. The platform is on track to pay out over $1 billion to developers this year, with the top ten creators earning $36 million each over the last 12 months. Valuations for games typically range from 112 months of revenue, depending on how stable the player base looks. Voldex has even inked partnerships with the NFL to rebrand games like Ultimate Football, extending their shelf life. Roblox isn't actively participating in these secondary market transactions, but the trajectory is clear: this could be the early innings of a new asset class where digital gamesespecially those born in teenage bedroomscommand multi-million-dollar exits. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
New York Times
18-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
As NBA plans for new pro league in Europe progress, EuroLeague re-enters the conversation
The NBA continues to move apace with its plans to potentially launch a new European basketball league. More than two months after commissioner Adam Silver announced that the NBA is looking into the idea, deputy commissioner Mark Tatum told The Athletic that the NBA continues to have discussions with potential stakeholders in the league. It has spoken with several investment banks, aside from The Raine Group, which has been working with the NBA since last year, about coming on as financial advisors before the NBA goes to market and begins to sell equity stakes in its new European league franchises. Advertisement The most significant conversations might have been the ones the NBA had several weeks ago with EuroLeague officials and representatives of all 13 permanent EuroLeague teams at FIBA's Geneva office. The NBA is working with FIBA on its plans. The two leagues have had a frosty relationship over the last year after the EuroLeague turned down the NBA's offer to partner with EuroLeague to run a European basketball league. But the relationship seems to have thawed in recent months. Former San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker, the owner of ASVEL, a French basketball club in the EuroLeague, has served as an intermediary between the two sides, and they have become more open to talks about their collective future. 'It was really the first time that all three parties, including the clubs, had sat down together to talk about what the future of European basketball should look like,' Tatum said. 'So I'd say there was a really productive, good conversations there. Out of that came several conversations directly with clubs, but I think everyone is of that mindset that there's a bigger opportunity for us to grow the game of basketball in Europe, and now it's just about figuring out what the right model is to do that.' EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejunas also said that there may be a future together for the two sides in Europe. 'It is becoming more obvious that we have to work together,' he told The Athletic. 'I believe it is the first meeting of many where we should find ways to grow basketball. FIBA's wishes are clear and simple and easy to get to. So it is up to both leagues to find ways to grow European basketball. Our history and fan base and teams would be a strong backbone to build on.' Tatum said that the European basketball league could launch in two to three years. There already seems to be some movement ahead of that. Advertisement Alba Berlin, one of the top teams in Germany, announced that it would leave the EuroLeague, where it played under a wild-card entry, to join FIBA's Basketball Champions League. That move has been viewed as laying the groundwork to eventually join the NBA's future league. Tatum said it was a sign that Alba Berlin bought 'into this vision of a revamped top-tier league in Europe that is going to service fans, the millions of basketball fans in Europe that currently aren't serviced today.' It could also portend a future where the EuroLeague or some of its teams are involved in the NBA's European league when it finally launches. 'Our vision is that we are going to be operating the top-tier league in Europe,' Tatum said. 'Clearly, the EuroLeague, I think, has done a pretty nice job of growing the game, but there are millions of fans that argue the service in that model, and like I said, they're one of the stakeholders there. So to the extent that they're interested and engaged with us on how to create the best model, yes, we're wanting to continue to have those conversations.' (Photo of Adam Silver and Secretary General of FIBA Andreas Zagklis during a March press conference: David Dow / NBAE via Getty Images)
Times
14-06-2025
- Sport
- Times
Prem Rugby: New logo, away ends and US matches in Premiership rebrand
Premiership Rugby will rebrand its league as Prem Rugby next month as part of a slate of innovations aimed at driving more interest in the English game. The renaming is one of several plans to revamp the league, including: • A trial of playing matches on Thursday nights; • A push for more 'big games' at top-class stadiums, some of which could take place in the United States; • More use of 'away ends', building on the two-match trial this season; • Employing Deloitte and The Raine Group to draw up plans to restructure the top flight. The name of the overriding organisation will remain Premiership Rugby, but from July 23 the league will be known as the Gallagher Prem. This aligns with the second-tier Championship, which has also shortened its name to Champ Rugby before next season. The Premiership has been known as such since 1997, having been called the Courage League after the English rugby pyramid was established in 1987. The leaders at Premiership Rugby first revealed they wanted to change the name of the league in May last year on The Ruck podcast from The Times. After an extensive rebranding exercise that has taken two years and included consultation with players, including the Bath prop Beno Obano and the Northampton Saints full back George Furbank, Premiership Rugby has settled on its shortened name as it wants to 'talk how fans talk' and 'unashamedly celebrate intensity, physicality, grit and extreme athleticism' in the game. Its new logo will be coloured orange to signify 'intensity'. Revealing the new name, Premiership Rugby's chief growth officer, Rob Calder, said: 'This is not formal, corporate or traditional. It's got grit, just like our competition. It's a physical contest that showcases power, pace and incredible skill under pressure, so we are unashamedly going to talk about physicality, intensity, extreme athleticism and the grit of top-flight rugby. 'This is about big hits, it's intense, it's full contact and its unflinching. We know this works as we've spoken to the players, and the things they've said in the process are: 'Promote the players. Show the game, the aggression, the gladiatorial nature of the game, and give the brand the intensity to match.' ' To help players build their personal brands, the league is creating a centralised social media app for them to share footage and pictures. While the rebrand will be announced at Saturday's sold-out Premiership final at Twickenham between Bath and Leicester Tigers, both in the stadium and live on TNT Sports, the official switch will occur on July 23. Next season's opening game will take place on Thursday, September 25, as a one-off trial. The Prem wants to avoid a clash with the Women's World Cup final, which is on Saturday, September 27 and is likely to feature England's Red Roses at Twickenham, so its opening round will have one match on the Thursday and the other four across Friday, September 26 and Sunday, September 28. This season two 'away ends' were trialled, when Harlequins went to Leicester and Gloucester went to Saracens, and the league wants to facilitate more of those next year. Fans would not be segregated, but away supporters would have the option to sit together. Premiership Rugby is also encouraging clubs to put on more 'big games' at larger stadiums. Harlequins play two of these, one at Christmas and the other in spring, both at Twickenham, while Saracens have their 'showdown' in March and Bristol Bears started their 'big day out' in Cardiff this May against Bath. The Times understands that Sale Sharks have previously investigated using Bolton Wanderers' 29,000-seat Toughsheet Community Stadium for a league game. It will not happen next season, but the league wants to take matches to the US in the build-up to the 2031 men's World Cup over there. Officials are confident that they can do so, having built the number of sell-outs over the past three seasons from 13 to 18 to 30 this term. The Premiership previously played two ill-fated matches stateside in 2016 and 2017. In 2016 London Irish faced Saracens in New York, and then Saracens played Newcastle Falcons in Philadelphia the following year, but neither game was sold out. 'We've had US games before and they've been flash in the pans, in the wrong area, wrong stadiums with the wrong teams,' Premiership Rugby's chief executive, Simon Massie-Taylor, said. 'It needs to lead to something. It's about maxing out what we've got domestically first, which is why sell-outs are so important. That needs to continue for these big games to exist, and then you start moving beyond your shores.' In terms of the league's structure, the Prem will remain a ten-team league next season, but executives are looking to add 'expansion' teams. To investigate what the league could look like in future, Premiership Rugby has employed both the New York-based bank Raine and the consultancy firm Deloitte. Their remit is to look only at the structure of the league within England, though, rather than trying to start an Anglo-Welsh or British and Irish domestic league. Ultimately they will take recommendations to the Premiership Rugby board by the summer, which should lead to the franchising of the top flight and an official end to promotion and relegation, as The Times has reported. Raine and Deloitte helped the ECB with the sale of the Hundred franchises, which is set to earn £520million for English cricket. There is confidence at Premiership Rugby that the bottom side in 2024-25, Newcastle Falcons, will be taken over by Red Bull this summer, so they will be able to compete in next season's league. If they are, the Falcons are likely to incorporate the Red Bull brand in their name — for example, renaming themselves Red Bull Newcastle. TNT Sports, the league's broadcaster, which has a commitment to show the Prem until 2031, also wants to add more data and technology to its coverage, including showing player heartrates and the pressure exerted at scrums. It believes it has the technical ability to show fans that information already, but needs the buy-in of the clubs and players to do so. Ultimately the Premiership believes that it is emerging from several lean years, in which Worcester Warriors, Wasps and London Irish went bust, and the league has cut its cloth with fresh confidence. Its chairman, Martyn Phillips, said: 'Three or four years ago we were in a hole, but we battened down the hatches to get the Premiership back on course. This feels like a significant day for us. We're in a good spot, but have by no means cracked it.' Jokingly, he added: 'We're out of intensive care, maybe even out of hospital, and we're not keen to go back there.'
Daily Mail
09-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Sir Jim Ratcliffe's bizarre behaviour in trying to hijack the sale of Chelsea before he bought Man United revealed in new Roman Abramovich book
Sir Jim Ratcliffe 's brazen attempt to hijack the sale of Chelsea to Todd Boehly has been laid bare in a new book which includes claims about his theatrics in the club's boardroom. Britain's richest man, who now part owns Manchester United, made a late bid to buy the Blues three years ago. That was despite Raine, the US bank handling the sale, having already whittled down an initial 280 expressions of interest to a shortlist of three. One of those was the Boehly-Clearlake Capital consortium, who eventually won the race, but only after Ratcliffe had apparently tried to gazump their offer. According to the new book Sanctioned: The Inside Story of the Sale of Chelsea FC, Ratcliffe called Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck the morning after a 1-1 draw with United at Old Trafford in April 2022 to request an urgent meeting. In that, it is claimed Ratcliffe tapped his chest repeatedly, telling Buck he had a piece of paper in his pocket with an offer for the club written on it. Other consortiums had filed polished 140-page documents by comparison and it appears Buck's attempts at coaxing the paper out of Ratcliffe's pocket were futile, as the Ineos chief instead bigged up how his offer would be the only one made up entirely of British money. It is claimed Buck had to tell Ratcliffe they had already chosen their preferred bidder. Ratcliffe still requested a meeting with Raine that same morning, where he made a formal bid of £4.25billion, the same as the other three. 'Buck, (Marina) Granovskaia and Raine were left with the distinct impression that Ratcliffe was convinced his status as the sole bid composed entirely of British money and personnel set him apart from all competition, by virtue of the Government's oversight of the sale and required sign-off,' the book claims. This tallies with an Ineos statement released at the time, which stated: 'This is a British bid, for a British club.' However, Ratcliffe's behaviour apparently angered the other bidders and, as warned by Buck, he was too late, with Boehly and Clearlake told they had been successful despite the last-minute disruption. Also in the new book, released today, Roman Abramovich speaks for the first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine forced him into selling Chelsea. He announced in March 2022 that he had no choice but to seek a sale amid accusations that he was an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, an allegation which led to the UK Government sanctioning him. Abramovich sold up in May 2022, with the £2.5billion proceeds being put into a frozen bank account, supposedly for charities supporting victims of the war. In a rare interview, Abramovich revealed how he wants to attend a Chelsea game so he can bid a 'proper goodbye' to the club. 'Perhaps one day there would be a situation where I could attend a match and say a proper goodbye, but nothing more than that,' he said. 'I don't have any interest in any role in a football club, certainly not a professional role. 'There might be something where I could help with academies and youngsters, giving greater opportunities to people from difficult backgrounds, if there was an initiative that could make a difference. 'But as for ownership or a professional role at a club, I am done with that in this lifetime.' Abramovich also said he would not allow himself to be distracted by the accusations towards him, including from the Government. 'There is an old Russian saying, 'The dogs bark, but the caravan keeps moving' and that fits here,' he told the book's author, Nick Purewal. 'Whatever I do, people always accuse me of some kind of agenda. In the end, I have done what I have simply to try to help.'
