How Private Equity is Changing the Game for North American Sports and Beyond

In recent years, private equity investment in sports has surged globally, marking a transformative shift in the financial and operational landscape of professional athletics. The global sports market was valued at nearly US$516 billion in 2024, with forecasts projecting it will surpass US$893 billion by 2034. Major North American leagues, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS have responded to this momentum by easing ownership restrictions since 2020, allowing private equity firms to acquire minority stakes and fueling increased deal activity. In 2024, minority investments accounted for 48% of deal volume, reflecting a growing trend in passive investment structures. Today, over 74 North American sports teams are backed by or affiliated with private equity, with many more viewing private equity as a strategic growth partner amid rising team valuations and evolving monetization models. 

Private equity's reach in sports now extends well beyond team ownership. Investments are flowing into sports verticals such as stadium infrastructure, sports technology companies, media rights, sponsorships and sports betting, reshaping the business of sport in profound ways. 

Why Sports Win: The Strategic and Economic Appeal of Sports Investments

Private equity's appeal in sports is driven by a combination of unique characteristics:

• Scarcity and Loyal Engagement: Limited opportunities to acquire stakes in sports franchises create scarcity that, when combined with strong brand loyalty and fan engagement, drives investor demand and elevates valuations due to the scarcity premium.
• Uncorrelated Returns and Downside Protection: Sports franchises have consistently maintained and increased their valuations, even during periods of market volatility and broader economic downturns. Sports assets are an attractive hedge against broader market risks while still providing significant upside potential. 
• Diverse Revenue Streams and Growth Potential: Sports investments offer multiple recurring revenue streams—including media rights, ticket sales, sponsorships and merchandise—that provide financial stability and drive franchise valuations. Private equity accelerates this growth by leveraging its operational expertise to help franchises unlock new revenue channels and maximize value. Beyond team ownership, the broader sports ecosystem—including technology, infrastructure and betting—presents diversified, scalable investment opportunities. Direct investments in these verticals are particularly attractive to private equity because they are more accessible, require less capital and still benefit from the sports industry's economic resilience and strong fan engagement.

Landmark Sports Investments by Canadian Private Equity

Canadian organizations are playing an increasingly prominent role in landmark transactions, leveraging their position to capture domestic opportunities while also pursuing cross-border investments. 
On the franchise front, Canadian private equity has played a visible role in several major acquisitions:

• Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the owner of iconic Toronto franchises including the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Toronto Raptors and Toronto FC, has undergone several major ownership transitions over the decades. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan became the controlling shareholder throughout the 1990s and 2000s, ultimately holding nearly 80% of the company before selling its stake in 2012 to BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc., who split a combined 75% interest, while Kilmer Sports Inc. retained a 25% position. In 2023, OMERS indirectly entered the MLSE structure by acquiring a minority stake in Kilmer Sports Inc. This long arc of private institutional ownership culminated when Rogers acquired BCE Inc.'s 37.5% interest in MLSE for C$4.7 billion, increasing its ownership to 75% and positioning them for full control by 2026. 
• In women's sports, Kilmer Sports Ventures acquired the Toronto Tempo of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for US$115 million in 2024, alongside Serena Williams and other individual investors who joined the ownership group in 2025. 
• In 2023, the Ottawa Senators were purchased by Michael Andlauer and a private equity-backed consortium for US$950 million, with the team now pursuing a downtown arena project. 

Beyond team ownership, Canadian private equity has expanded meaningfully into sports verticals:

• Toronto-based Reichmann Segal Capital Partners has emerged as a leader in sports infrastructure with its acquisitions of Athletica Sport Systems, a top supplier of dasher boards and rink equipment to the NHL, in 2024 and OES Inc., a manufacturer of LED scoreboards and timing systems, in 2025. 
• Now fully owned by Canadian private equity, Bauer Hockey, one of the world's leading hockey equipment brands, first entered private equity ownership in 2008 when Nike sold the brand to U.S. firm Kohlberg & Co. The new owners reorganized Bauer under a holding structure that later became the publicly traded Performance Sports Group (PSG). After PSG filed for bankruptcy in 2016, Canadian investors Fairfax Financial Holdings and Sagard Holdings acquired PSG's assets—including Bauer—for approximately US$575 million, creating the new parent entity Peak Achievement Athletics Inc. In 2024, Fairfax bought out Sagard's stake, making Bauer fully Canadian-owned. Peak also owns Cascade Lacrosse and Maverik Lacrosse.
• CCM Hockey, another widely recognized Canadian equipment brand, had long been owned by Adidas until 2017, when it was sold to Canadian private equity firm Birch Hill Equity Partners, marking the beginning of a multi-year, private equity-driven transformation. Under Birch Hill's ownership, CCM broadened its product lines, strengthened its operations and delivered substantial profitability growth. This sustained growth set the stage for CCM's 2025 sale to Swedish private-equity firm Altor Equity Partners, alongside co-investor Northleaf Capital Partners; together, they acquired a majority stake and positioned CCM for its next phase of global expansion.

Canada's Private Equity Playbook: Emerging Strategic Opportunities

U.S. private equity firms have made a series of high-profile investments in the industry in recent years, including Sixth Street Partners' multi-billion-dollar stakes in the Boston Celtics and New England Patriots, Ares Management's investment in the Miami Dolphins and Arctos Partners' stake in the Buffalo Bills. While these U.S. investments highlight the scale and momentum of private equity in sports, Canada can build on this by seizing timely opportunities and leveraging emerging markets.

World Cup 2026: A Catalyst for Canadian Sports Investment

The upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, in which Canada is a host country, presents a unique opportunity for Canada to capture similar attention and capital. The landmark tournament is set to bring an unprecedented surge of tourism, investment and global visibility to Canada, serving as a rare catalyst for the country's sports economy by creating investment opportunities that will extend well beyond the championship. The tournament is expected to generate billions in economic activity through stadium upgrades, hospitality expansion, digital infrastructure, event operations and sports-technology deployment, areas where private equity has already shown strong deal appetite and success in the U.S. and Canada. Recent World Cup–related transactions illustrate this trajectory, most notably Providence Equity Partners' purchase of Global Critical Logistics, the official logistics provider for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in a deal valued at more than US$1 billion. As World Cup preparations accelerate, Canada is likely to see similar investment opportunities emerge.

Women's Sports: The Next Major Growth Market

Women's leagues present a compelling opportunity for private equity firms seeking high-growth sports investment opportunities at lower entry costs. The sector's momentum is clear—global revenues in women's sports are projected to hit US$2.35 billion by 2025, up nearly 240% in just three years. What differentiates this sector is its strong commercial appeal and sponsor engagement—women's sports fans are twice as likely to purchase products endorsed by female athletes, 54% more aware of sponsors, and 45% more inclined to consider or purchase from sponsoring brands of women's sports. These metrics highlight the sector's ability to deliver authentic engagement and exceptional investor value.

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup set to ignite unprecedented visibility and enthusiasm for soccer in Canada, the Northern Super League (NSL)—Canada's first domestic women's soccer league—is a standout example of a promising investment opportunity in women's sports. As the sole professional women's soccer league in Canada, NSL's planned 2027 expansion and partnership with Whitecap Sports Group to recruit new ownership groups presents Canadian private equity firms with a chance to leverage cultural momentum and invest in teams that offer low entry costs and compelling upside potential.

The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) is another potential opportunity to watch. Although the league and its teams are currently wholly owned by the Mark Walter Group—led by Mark Walter, the CEO of Guggenheim Partners—broader trends across major sports leagues moving away from single-ownership models, as seen in leagues such as the WNBA, may eventually prompt consideration of selling individual PWHL franchises or minority stakes. This possibility merits close attention, as it would offer a rare early-stage entry point for investors.

The Hat Trick of Successful Investments: Structure, Governance, and Compliance

As leagues relax long-standing investment restrictions, ownership is shifting toward models and legal structures that remain largely untested in the sports industry. These changes bring new complexities for private equity investment in the U.S. and Canada that demand a disciplined legal approach focused on three key considerations:

• Structure: Thoughtful deal structuring is fundamental in sports-focused transactions, where complex commercial relationships and diverse stakeholder interests intersect. A well-balanced structure ensures the transaction establishes an ownership and capital model that manages risk, maintains flexibility, optimizes tax efficiency and preserves value throughout the investment lifecycle.
• Governance: Sports investments operate within governance frameworks set by leagues, federations and other stakeholders. Understanding these frameworks early is critical to structuring a compliant and viable transaction, as they typically impose ownership limits, define voting rights, set operational controls, restrict passive investor influence and require league approval for changes in ownership. 
• Compliance: Sports investments are subject to complex regulatory and licensing requirements, often spanning multiple jurisdictions. Leagues often impose non-public legal policies or requirements for investments that can materially impact deal terms and timing. A proactive compliance strategy—one that anticipates both formal regulations and undisclosed league policies—ensures transactions close smoothly and positions the investment to scale without unexpected setbacks.

A New Era for Canadian Private Equity in Sports

Private equity's accelerating role in sports marks a fundamental shift in how the industry operates and grows. From major league franchises to emerging sports verticals, private capital is redefining the financial architecture of professional athletics and unlocking unprecedented opportunities for innovation and value creation. As investment momentum builds, the goal is clear: harness financial potential while preserving the integrity and passion that make sports unique.

Canadian university sports, for example, are at an inflection point that may be ideally suited for a private equity investment model. The concept is not theoretical—the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and its teams are actively experimenting with private investment frameworks, exemplified by the University of Utah's groundbreaking partnership with a private equity-backed collective, projected to provide more than US$500 million in capital to its athletic department. This signals a transformative shift in how NCAA programs can secure sustainable funding—offering approaches U SPORTS, the national governing body for university sports in Canada, can adopt. Done responsibly, private capital could become the catalyst that preserves and strengthens Canadian university athletics for the long term. Recent developments, such as McGill University's decision to discontinue 25 varsity sports teams, underscore the financial pressures confronting U SPORTS programs. These challenges reflect a deeper structural issue—the traditional funding model for Canadian university athletics is no longer sufficient to sustain programs. Private equity models could help aggregate and commercialize media and sponsorship rights, modernize facilities and fund scholarships—reducing dependence on annual university budgets and donor cycles.

Whether in Canada or on the global stage, private equity is not just participating in this evolution, it is defining the future of sports and setting the course for decades to come.

Bennett Jones Private Equity Group

The Bennett Jones Private Equity group is a leader in Canada. We advise private equity sponsors, portfolio companies and other funds and institutional investors on complex cross-border transactions, structuring and value creation, delivering tailored strategies that maximize returns and manage risk. For more information, we invite you to contact the authors, or Private Equity group key contacts Curtis Cusinato, Matthew Hunt and Kristopher Hanc.