Blue Owl Capital (NYSE:OWL) is in discussions to acquire a minority stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers, as private equity firms look to acquire sports franchises.
Blue Owl would be taking a 5% to 10% stake in the team. The transaction would be through Blue Owl’s Dyal HomeCourt Partners Fund, which has previously taken stakes in the Sacramento Kings, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Atlanta Hawks, Bloomberg reported.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are the 16th most valuable sports team at $4.86 billion, according to Sportico. Dan Gilbert, who owns the Cavaliers, has been looking to offload approximately 15% of the franchise since last year.
Other private equity firms have also bought up professional sports franchises in recent months.
Last month, The Cleveland Browns sold 10% of the club at a valuation of more than $9 billion to private equity firm Arctos Partners.
Thrive Capital bought a small stake in the San Francisco Giants through a new holding company called Thrive Eternal.
In March, a consortium comprising Blackstone (NYSE:BX), Bolt Ventures, Aditya Birla Group, and The Times of India Group agreed to acquire the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) cricket franchise.
Ares Management Corp., Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) and Sixth Street Partners are reportedly having early-stage conversations regarding the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) European expansion.
Private Equity Takes On Youth Sports
Earlier this year, KKR & Co. (NYSE:KKR) entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Arctos Partners, an institutional investor in professional sports franchise stakes.
Aside from professional sports team stakes, private equity is pouring into youth and amateur sports at a record pace this year, with deal value already surging past full-year 2025 levels as investors target what is increasingly being shaped as a data-driven, infrastructure-heavy industry rather than a traditional sports ownership play.
Private equity investments in amateur sports reached $2.11 billion in the first five months of 2026, already more than four times the $550 million recorded for all of 2025, according to a report by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Recent acquisitions are focused less on traditional club ownership and more on the infrastructure behind youth sports,” said Luca Blasi, head of private markets valuations at S&P Global Market Intelligence, in an interview with Benzinga.
He pointed to technology platforms, data systems, and multimedia rights businesses as the primary drivers of new investment interest.
Photo: T. Schneider via Shutterstock
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