Top-flight football clubs "continue to attract a high degree of interest," fueled in part by the expectations for the upcoming auction of Premier League TV rights, according to Daniel Dunkley of the SUNDAY TIMES. Last month, Tripp Smith, an American dealmaker at investment firm Blackstone, "grabbed a 10% stake in West Ham United." In August, Chinese businessman Jisheng Gao sealed a £200M takeover of Premier League side Southampton. Even West Bromwich Albion "has a wealthy Chinese backer." Tim Bridge, a senior manager at Deloitte’s sports practice, said that takeover talks before the next TV rights auction demonstrated that the league was "more attractive than it has ever been." He said, "We used to call football clubs trophy assets, but we are now seeing clubs being bought for business reasons." Bridge expects more deals after the TV rights auction. BT and Sky paid £5.14B ($6.78B) for live games through the '18-19 season. Analysts have "estimated the fee could rise by as little" as £200M ($264M), or as much as £1B ($1.3B). As soon as the deal is inked, prospective buyers -- and sellers -- "will know what they are dealing with." Arsenal is "one of the big clubs whose future is expected to be resolved soon." The real prize for investors is "still" Liverpool. While Fenway Sports Group has committed itself to Liverpool, a "big TV rights deal could change that" (SUNDAY TIMES, 10/22).
