Harbinger Athletics stake marks fund’s first investment

Harbinger Sports Partners has acquired a minority ownership position in Major League Baseball’s Athletics, a Harbinger Athletics stake tied to the club’s financing for a new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip, PE Hub reported. The transaction’s financial terms were not disclosed, leaving the size of the holding and valuation of the deal unspecified.

PE Hub said the investment forms part of the Athletics’ completed equity financing for construction of the new stadium. Equity financing raises capital by selling ownership interests rather than by taking on debt; in this case, the reported investment gives Harbinger a non-controlling stake in the club.

The deal is also the first investment from Harbinger’s inaugural fund, according to PE Hub. It is the firm’s first investment centered on the Las Vegas sports market, a city that has drawn increased attention from professional sports investors through franchise moves and venue development.

What did Harbinger buy in the Athletics?

Harbinger bought a minority ownership stake in the Athletics, according to PE Hub. A minority stake gives an investor exposure to the economics of the team without control of the franchise, although the specific rights attached to Harbinger’s position were not disclosed.

The Athletics investment is linked to the team’s planned ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip. PE Hub described the club as based in Las Vegas and said the financing for the new venue has been completed.

Rashaun Williams, founder and chief investment officer of Harbinger Sports Partners, framed the deal as an investment in Las Vegas as much as in baseball. “Las Vegas represents one of the greatest sports investment opportunities of our generation,” Williams said, according to PE Hub. “We’re not simply investing in a baseball franchise. We’re investing in a city that has fundamentally changed the economics of professional sports.”

People familiar with the transaction told PE Hub that Harbinger was the only private equity firm invited to participate in the financing. PE Hub did not identify those people, and no additional participants in the equity financing were named in its report.

For Harbinger, the transaction establishes an opening position for its first fund in a major US professional sports league. For the Athletics, the investment adds private capital to the ownership funding package associated with the club’s Las Vegas ballpark project, though the report did not provide a timetable, construction budget or ownership percentage.

This story draws on original reporting from PE Hub.