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CVC Capital Partners is talking about a $ 600 billion deal that would bring together men’s and women’s tennis calendars and would allow a private equity firm to buy the sport.
Under the proposals, CVC would take a 15 percent stake in One Tennis, a new entity created to manage media and data rights for both courses, valued at $ 4 billion, according to people familiar with the proposals.
The Professional Tennis Association and the Women’s Tennis Association, the governing bodies of the excursions, would remain separate entities and would be responsible for sports decisions.
They would coordinate schedules so men and women would play in the same events as they do in the “majors” – in four elite-level tournaments, including Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, with separate governing bodies.
If agreed, the agreement would mark the first session in tennis for CVC, a Luxembourg-based private equity team that has been promoting sports offerings worldwide, including football, rugby, volleyball, basketball and motor racing.
The company owned First Formula and MotoGP and bought Six Nations, Premiership Rugby and Pro 14 rugby tournaments as well as the International Volleyball Federation. He has given talks to invest in the Italian Serie A football league, the German Bundesliga and the San Antonio Spurs basketball team.
CVC’s latest strategy has been to try to get minority stakes in major competitions in an effort to gain a foothold in the sports league and championships and gain enough influence to unify media rights packages for sale around the world.
CVC has not commented.
The ATP tour includes 64 tournaments in 31 countries, and the WTA, founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, hosts more than 50 tournaments.
Under the proposed agreement, One Tennis would manage the broadcasting rights to the tournaments of the two organizations, as well as the rights to sell the data to the gaming companies.
ATP has a contract with IMG to make bet data, while the WTA has an agreement with Stats Perform, both of which can be overseen by One Tennis if the deal goes ahead.
Mark Webster, general manager of ATP Media’s sales and dissemination team, has been put under the direction of One Tennis and has become part of the new ATP Media entity, a person familiar with the matter said.
Some people said the deal could be agreed as soon as this month. The aim would be to create an entity that can offer to direct the media and data rights of the Grand Slam tournament, they added.
The WTA and ATP said they were “constantly looking for ways to approach the sport to provide a better experience for fans, players and tournaments.” They added: “If we work together, we believe there can be great opportunities and we are looking at all options. These are preliminary stages and all options will be assessed in close consultation with our stakeholders.”
Both organizations were forced to suspend tournaments last year due to a coronavirus pandemic. The talks were first reported by Sky News
ATP president Andrea Gaudenzi told the Financial Times last year that she had left Combining ATP and WTA. Roger Federer and Billie Jean King, who have a record of winning 20 major titles, have also come out in support.
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