Global investment bank William Blair has closed its acquisition of sports investment bank Inner Circle Sports. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Inner Circle has long punched above its weight as a boutique, sector-specific advisory firm. Launched in 2002 and led by Steve Horowitz and Rob Tilliss, ICS has worked on some of the industry’s top team transactions. It’s currently advising Clearlake Capital’s Jose Feliciano on his acquisition of the Padres and advised Luke Walton on buying a minority stake in the Bulls, among other notable sports M&A deals. ICS has also recently overseen the NWSL’s expansion process.
The ICS acquisition comes as the sports industry proves increasingly appealing to sophisticated investors and, thus, to global advisory practices like William Blair, which has managed nearly $600B worth of M&A deals. ICS will continue to operate separately within William Blair, and the firm is now hiring to expand on its current staff of 16 full timers.
