Sources: Penn National Gaming In Talks To Buy Barstool Sports

The Chernin Group, which owns Barstool Sports, is in "advanced talks to sell a majority stake in the company to Penn National Gaming," according to sources cited by Peter Kafka of VOX.com. Barstool was last valued at over $100M, but a potential purchase price "could be much higher, and might create the biggest media-gambling tie-up in the U.S. since the Supreme Court legalized sports betting" in '18. Industry observers "expect" Penn National to "adopt the Barstool brand for at least some of its operations." The "most logical use of Barstool's brand would be to help Penn National move into online sports betting." Barstool already has a Barstool Bets site, which "publishes sports-betting stories and videos, and runs free sports-betting games." Barstool Founder Dave Portnoy sold a majority stake in his company to The Chernin Group for a reported $10M in '16. In '18, Chernin put another $15M into the company at a reported valuation of more than $100M (VOX.com, 1/10).