Barstool Sports sold back to its founder Dave Portnoy
David Portnoy, the outspoken founder of Barstool Sports, has bought back his company from PENN entertainment.
In 2020, PENN became a minority owner of Barstool Sports, buying a 36% stake. Earlier this year, PENN bought the rest of the company in February for approximately $388 million. In their press release announcing the divestiture, PENN stated that they had sold 100% of Barstool Sports back to Dave Portnoy “in exchange for certain non-compete and other restrictive covenants.” PENN sold Barstool at the same time that it announced a $2 billion deal with Disney-owned ESPN. Both Disney and PENN shares saw a rise in share prices following the announcement.
Barstool Sports started as a free sports and gambling newspaper and evolved into a leading digital player in sports, lifestyle and entertainment. According to the PENN’s February announcing the acquisition, Barstool sports had over 200 million loyal followers. It added that “the company creates and delivers unmatched sports and comedic content through its extensive network of over 100 shows and 90+ personalities. Its content offerings span podcasts, video, social media, live events, pay-per-view, and a growing commerce business, solidifying its position as a multimedia powerhouse.”
Jay Snowden, Chief Executive Officer and President of PENN, commented, “Barstool has been a great partner and we are thankful to Dave Portnoy, Erika Ayers, Dan Katz and their team for helping to rapidly scale our digital footprint across 16 jurisdictions in the U.S. and introducing their audience to our retail and digital products. The divestiture allows Barstool to return to its roots of providing unique and authentic content to its loyal audience without the restrictions associated with a publicly traded, licensed gaming company.”
Portnoy, who founded Barstool Sports in 2003, announced the acquisition on the X social platform, where his ‘tweet’ garnered over 15 million views within 14 hours. He said that PENN and Barstool had “gone our separate ways.” In his “emergency press conference” on X, Portnoy where he announced that Barstool and PENN had parted ways and “for the first time in a decade” he has sole ownership of Barstool Sports. He added that both parties, at the time of the deal, had “underestimated just how tough it is for myself and Barstool to operate in a regulated world and … they were making one step forwards, two steps back”. He added that the “regulated industry probably not the best place for Barstool Sports and the type of content we make.”
Portnoy concluded his announcement with “We don’t have to watch what we say, how we talk, what we do. It’s back to the pirate ship… The cannons, they will plunder from now for the next 100 years”.
SiGMA’s regional summit in Limassol, Cyprus
SiGMA Balkans/CIS is only a few weeks away. It will be held at the City of Dreams, Europe’s first integrated resort from the 04 – 07 September.
Industry operators will be able to connect with leading affiliates and two conference stages will feature a number of high-profile guest speakers. There will also be an expo floor, including the SiGMA Startup Village. So much more is happening in Limassol! Check out all the details here.
