Endeavor is "close to a deal to buy On Location Experiences, the high-end hospitality firm partly owned by the NFL," according to sources cited by Ourand & Smith of SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL. The two sides have "agreed on a price" north of $650M, but they "still are negotiating some of the deal’s finer points." Majority owners RedBird Capital and Bruin Sports Capital, whose "combined investment with the NFL helped create On Location four years ago, had been looking for opportunities to sell for several months." The firms will "exit with a staggering profit on their initial investment, believed to be in the neighborhood" of $70M combined. On Location’s revenue "grew dramatically" from $23M in '14 to more than $600M last year. Specifics "still are being worked out, but it looks like the NFL will be the only one of On Location’s four current owners that stays with the company," keeping its 20% stake in the business. That is "important because of On Location’s status as the NFL’s official hospitality provider and the source of Super Bowl tickets." Other primary owners -- Bruin (which owns roughly 30%), RedBird (30%) and Carlyle Group (10%) -- will "cash out and leave the partnership" (SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/8 issue). Bloomberg News also explored the details of the potential sale.
