Scarcity value drives Apollo, Joshua Kushner and José E. Feliciano to sports deals; Genstar to sell First Eagle to Victory Capital Holdings for $7bn

Happy hump day, PE Hubsters! Rafael Canton here with you for the US edition of the Wire.

Let’s begin the Wire with a dive into professional sports teams. PE Hub has seen several deals involving teams in 2026. August has been particularly busy with Apollo Sports Capital agreeing to invest $2.6 billion in the New York Yankees, and Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger reaching an agreement to acquire the Los Angeles Lakers in a $12.5 billion transaction. We’ll look at some recent deals and at what’s driving this interest.

Then, we have a deal from this morning. Genstar Capital has agreed to sell First Eagle Investments to Victory Capital for approximately $7 billion.

We’ll finish up with a deal from Tuesday. Superstep Capital made an investment in Google Cloud consultancy Zencore.

Sports surge

Investors are flocking to the sports sector in droves. And professional sports teams are the main attraction. Due to a scarcity of assets and the consistent rise of pro sports team valuations, investors have seen an opportunity to pick up stakes in teams across the National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball.

Deals, both big and small, are happening across football, baseball and basketball. And some of the most prominent teams in sports are the recipients, such as the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Yankees and Seattle Seahawks.

PE Hub has been tracking the deal activity in the sector, which has picked up recently. Five deals have been announced or reported on in August. PE firms like Apollo and KKR-backed Arctos are active, but we’re also seeing the heads of PE and VC firms like José E. Feliciano and Joshua Kushner make splashy sports moves.

Let’s look at a few of the deals I highlighted.

Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano acquire San Diego Padres at $3.9bn valuation

An ownership group led by Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano is acquiring the San Diego Padres from The Seidler Family. Major League Baseball owners unanimously approved the deal earlier in August. The transaction values the Padres at $3.9 billion.

Feliciano is managing partner and co-founder of Clearlake Capital Group. In a Fireside Chat at NEXUS 2026 with PE Hub editor-in-chief Mary Kathleen (MK) Flynn, Feliciano explained that sports has become a predictable revenue source that’s extremely sticky.

Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger to buy Los Angeles Lakers in $12.5bn deal

Earlier in August, Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger agreed to acquire the Los Angeles Lakers from Mark Walter in a $12.5 billion transaction. Kushner will be the controlling owner according to a source close to the deal. The deal is still subject to approval from NBA owners.

Thrive Eternal is expected to be part of the financing in the transaction according to a source. Founded in 2026, Thrive Eternal is a permanent capital holding company that will be concentrated on a small number of assets that it can “steward over many decades.”

Apollo to acquire stake in New York Yankees

In another August deal, Apollo Sports Capital agreed to provide $2.6 billion to Yankee Global Enterprises, the holding company of MLB team, the New York Yankees.

According to a release, the capital infusion will be used to support the continued growth of the Yankees franchise as well as refinancing of existing debt. The transaction is expected to close imminently.

Apollo Sports Capital CEO Al Tylis will join YGE’s board, which will expand by one seat. The Steinbrenner family will maintain full control of the Yankees and Hal Steinbrenner will remain as the managing general partner of the Yankees and continue to represent the team as the MLB control person.

Blue Owl makes minority investment in Cleveland Cavaliers

In another July deal, Blue Owl acquired a minority stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers, a professional team in the National Basketball Association. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert will maintain his majority stake in the franchise.

The investment was made out of Blue Owl’s HomeCourt Partners fund, a division of Blue Owl’s GP Strategic Capital platform.

“Sports investing is a rapidly growing alternative investment strategy due to the diversification and stable income stream it can potentially provide investors,” Michael Rees, co-president at Blue Owl, said in a statement.

Read on to see some of the additional professional sports team deals in 2026.

New management

Genstar Capital has agreed to sell First Eagle Investments to Victory Capital for approximately $7 billion.

Headquartered in New York, First Eagle is an investment management firm with approximately $222 billion in assets under management

Victory Capital will acquire 100 percent of First Eagle from Genstar and First Eagle employees. The purchase price comprises approximately $4.4 billion in cash and $2 billion in newly issued Victory Capital equity; Victory Capital will also assume $575 million of First Eagle’s existing senior secured notes due 2032.

Upon closing, the combined company is expected to hold approximately $571 billion in total client assets, with First Eagle continuing to operate on Victory Capital’s platform while retaining its brand, investment autonomy and existing investment processes.

At the deal’s close, Genstar is expected to hold approximately 14.6 percent of Victory Capital.

AI capabilities

In a deal announced on Tuesday, Superstep Capital invested in Zencore. Based in San Francisco, Zencore is a Google Cloud consultancy.

Zencore was founded in 2021 by former Google Cloud leaders. This investment will allow Zencore to increase its commitment to full stack AI capabilities on Google Cloud. This includes the launch of three ZenAI Factory operations, new offerings that help enterprises transform operations using AI on Google Cloud.

That’s it for me. If you have any questions, thoughts, or want to chat about deals in the tech, consumer or sports sectors, please email me at rafael.c@pei.group.

Tomorrow, Nina Lindholm will be with you for the Europe edition of the Wire while Craig McGlashan takes a vacation. Michael Schoeck will write the US edition. Be on the lookout for Michael’s weekly update of companies coming to market.

Cheers,

Rafael