1 week ago
3
Former Wests Tigers powerbrokers Justin Pascoe and Lee Hagipantelis have bought a Canadian basketball franchise.
The pair, who last year purchased a 25 per cent share in A-League club Newcastle Jets, have been scouring the globe for more sporting assets they feel have the potential to appreciate in value.
To that end, their firm, Global Sports Fund Management Group, has acquired the Ottawa BlackJacks – one of 10 teams competing in the Canadian Elite Basketball League, the only professional basketball league in North America affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). The NBA is not part of FIBA.
Pascoe and Hagipantelis are also close to finalising the purchase of a professional domestic sporting franchise in Australia.
The businessmen believe undervalued sporting teams present growth opportunities that have the potential to outperform traditional investments such as equities, bonds and real estate.
“In our view, sport’s no longer just a game on the field, it’s an industry,” said GSFMG chief executive Pascoe.
Former Wests Tigers bosses Lee Hagipantelis and Justin Pascoe, through their firm Global Sports Fund Management Group, are in the process of purchasing global sports teams.Credit: Janie Barrett
“It’s an asset class that’s now heavily recognised by financial institutions around the world.
“We’ve been able to find a niche in the marketplace. There is a lot of capital out there. You can see the valuations of the recent NBA sales of $US10 billion ($15.3 billion) for the LA Lakers – the average NBA side is now worth $US4.8 billion.
“The [Dallas] Cowboys are worth in excess of $US12 billion; you see what’s happening with Wrexham. There’s certainly a niche market out there for undervalued, performing sports assets that don’t just need capital, [but] that need some operational experience and expertise to attach to the capital.”
Loading
Pascoe said his firm had had “over 100 opportunities presented to us” over the past year, but opted for the BlackJacks because of the upside they see in the Canadian league.
“Basketball to us is a growing sport, globally,” he said. “Our belief was ice hockey is still the No.1 sport over there, but basketball, with the immigration and the demographic shift in Canada, is growing daily. It’s the highest growth sport in terms of percentage increase.
“We’ve seen what [majority National Basketball League owner] Larry Kestelman has been able to do with the NBL here, and there’s no reason why we can’t try and emulate that, literally on the border of the NBA.”
Pascoe describes the Canadian league as being “where the NBL was six or seven years ago”, with the potential for exponential growth. He points to Craig Hutchison’s recent sale of the Perth Wildcats for $40 million, just three years after picking them up for $8.5 million.
Loading
Hagipantelis said the purchase of English soccer club Wrexham AFC by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney was an example of astute purchasing and marketing.
“There’s an example of an extraordinarily successful business model of developing an underdeveloped sporting franchise and growing that,” Hagipantelis said.
“Finding capital is not difficult, it’s finding smart capital that is difficult. It’s about finding people who can bring more than money to the table.”
GSFMG also has a wholesale venture capital fund arm that allows investors to be part of the journey. Asked if potential investors would be wary given their lack of success at the helm of Wests Tigers, Pascoe said: “The Tigers experience is a footnote in our careers.
“The real story is the global reach we provide – we have businesses set up in the UK, Canada, USA and Australia, private equity expertise, and a pipeline of opportunities we are opening up for our investors today. Having zero restrictions on how we operate as the owners of GSF has enabled both Lee and I to perform at the appropriate level to ensure our expertise is applied to create value.”
NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now
Most Viewed in Sport
Loading
