WTA secures minority sale to CVC Capital Partners, valued now at $750M

The WTA confirmed today the “sale of a 20% stake” to CVC Capital Partners in a deal that “values the organization" at $750M, according to Mark Kleinman of SKY SPORTS. The “strategic” partnership, which has been “under discussion for close to two years, will involve the establishment of a new company overseeing broadcasting and marketing operations.” CVC’s investment will “aim to accelerate the commercial opportunities.” Sources said that WTA CEO Steve Simon would “become chairman of the new commercial entity, provisionally named WTA Ventures,” with a CEO appointed “in the coming months.” The transaction has been “approved by the WTA's various councils, as well as its board.” CVC will also “invest in marketing the sport's top players more effectively, as well as new digital platforms.” Kleinman writes the deal “represents one of the most significant investments in elite women's sport to date” (SKY SPORTS 3/7).

SIMON SAYS: Simon said that he “hoped the new CVC partnership would lead to a near-term increase in prize money at tour events.” He added that CVC’s investment will “allow the tour to invest more in marketing the women’s game and in producing or commissioning media programming that will raise the profiles of players and tournaments.” Simon said that “most of the WTA’s current rights deals would expire in 2026.” In N.Y., Christopher Clarey notes Simon “declined to disclose a timetable for when the tour would receive” CVC’s $150M investment. Simon said it is “certainly not something that is a drip effect.” He added the company has “significant funding coming in that’s going to allow us to invest over the next several years at levels we’ve never been able to before.” He “emphasized repeatedly” that the WTA “still had autonomy despite the CVC deal.” Simon: “The way we set all this up, WTA Tour Inc. is not touched. The WTA still controls 100 percent all of the governance, regulatory and calendar issues.” But Simon acknowledged that tour and CVC officials would “communicate to ensure that WTA decisions did not hurt commercial opportunities” (N.Y. TIMES, 3/7).

GROWING THE FAMILY TREE : Simon said that the new entity is “completely separate” from St. Petersburg-based WTA Inc., which “oversees the tour itself, and will manage all of the sport’s commercial activities, including rights for broadcast, data, gaming, sponsorship, licensing and NFTs.” The AP’s Howard Fendrich notes in late 2021, Simon announced that the WTA would be “suspending all of its tournaments” that were held in China, “costing the tour millions of dollars.” He called the CVC investment “completely unattached from any of those issues.” Simon also said the agreement “doesn’t prohibit, in any way, from us continuing to have discussions with the ATP (men’s tennis tour) and potentially doing a bigger deal with the ATP involved” ( AP, 3/7 ).