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BFD Expert Voices - Media Deals

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A-Rod closes in on T-Wolves

Owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez of the Minnesota Timberwolves fist bump after the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Miami Heat at FTX Arena on March 12, 2022 in Miami, Florida. 

Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez. Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Candle lightens up

Kevin Mayer, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Candle Media and Thomas O. Staggs, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Candle Media speak onstage at the Headliner Conversation during the Variety Entertainment Summit at CES at the Aria Resort & Casino on January 06, 2023

Candle Media co-founders Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs. Photo: Greg Doherty/Variety via Getty Images

Deal flow

Movin' on up (or out)

Channel surfing

Illustration of a surfer with a television in the place of his head.

Alex Rodriguez scored a big victory in the ugly battle between the former baseball star and Glen Taylor over the ownership future of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves.

Why it matters: One of the messiest ownership transfers in professional sports appears set to finally have a resolution.

Driving the news: Yesterday, a three-person arbitration panel voted in favor of Rodriguez and his partner Marc Lore in their dispute with current owner Taylor over the sale of the Timberwolves. 

The ruling allows Rodriguez and Lore to continue their payments that would gain them majority control of the team.

The two now have 90 days to get approval from the NBA Board of Governors, which means that at least 23 other owners have to vote to approve the sale.

These votes are normally a formality, but this time they'll happen while the current T-Wolves owner opposes the sale.

What they're saying: Rodriguez and Lore praised the panel's decision, while Taylor said that he would "review the decision thoroughly" before making any further comment on what his next steps may be.

Catch up quick: Rodriguez and Lore agreed to buy the T-Wolves and WNBA's Minnesota Lynx in 2021 via a multipart transaction.

It included an initial 20% ownership stake, with an option to buy another 40% that the pair exercised at the end of 2023.

The Lore-Rodriguez team was preparing to make a final payment last March to take control of the team before Taylor called the $1.5 billion deal off, alleging they had missed benchmarks in the contract.

The arbitration panel disagreed, voting that it was Taylor who violated terms of the deal.

The bottom line: Unless Taylor pulls off a miracle, his 30-year ownership of the team is set to end. It included only two playoff series wins and zero NBA Finals appearances.

1 big thing: A-Rod closes in on T-Wolves

Candle Media has hired Raine Group to advise on a possible sale of social publisher ATTN:, two sources confirmed to Axios. The news was first reported by Puck.

Why it's the BFD: This could be either a one-off deal or lead to other suitors eyeing additional assets from the Blackstone-backed media holding company. 

Zoom in: ATTN: has performed well under Candle. It's more profitable and bigger than when it was bought, one of the sources added.

Founded in 2014, ATTN: produces short-form news and entertainment content aimed at Gen Z and millennial audiences, centered around social issues.

Catch up quick: Candle Media, led by ex-Disney veterans Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer, made multiple splashes when it bought a slew of production companies and star-driven outfits in 2021-22. 

Candle bought ATTN: in 2022 for $100 million in cash and stock, with a total deal value of $150 million with payouts.

That deal followed high-profile acquisitions of Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine and "CoComelon" studio Moonbug.

But since those deals, streamers and other Hollywood studios have dramatically scaled back their content spending. That has made star-driven entities like Hello Sunshine struggle to live up to the lofty valuations when they were bought.

2. The BFD: Candle lightens up

Go deeper in our full database in the Axios Pro Deals Tracker.

• ScorePlay, a sports media management startup, raised $13m from a group of investors including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Alex Morgan and Alexis Ohanian's Seven Seven Six. Go deeper

• Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI) launched its second VC fund with $150m. Go deeper

• Fox Corp (NASDAQ: FOXA) acquired Red Seat Ventures, a consultancy that helps creators build digital businesses, including multiple former Fox News hosts. Go deeper

• Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) is weighing a bid for Formula One's broadcasting rights, per the NY Times. Go deeper

3. Deal flow

• John Nallen was promoted to president and COO at Fox Corp. Go deeper

• Sally Shin joined Comcast Ventures as a venture partner. She previously was chief strategy officer at United Masters and, before that, in senior roles at NBC News and CNBC. Go deeper

• Cassandra Bujarski of FGS Global is joining United Talent Agency as chief communications officer. Go deeper

• Jonathan Gabay was named president of television for production company Rideback. Go deeper

4. Movin' on up (or out)

🏈 Fox rides streaming wave to record 126M Super Bowl viewership splash (Sportico)

"The record turnout comes as a bit of a surprise, given the one-sided nature of the game, although Fox may have gotten a bit of a lift from Nielsen's recent OOH upgrade and the new Big Data + Panel ratings methodology. The broadcast was also streamed for free via Tubi, a service which boasts some 97 million active users," Anthony Crupi writes.

📺 Who's watching what on TV? Who's to say? (NYT)

"People now watch so many programs at so many different times in so many different ways — with an antenna, on cable, in an app or from a website, as well as live, recorded or on demand — that it is increasingly challenging for the industry to agree on the best way to measure viewership," John Koblin writes.

💸 Snap plans $700 million junk offering to buy back convertibles (Bloomberg)

"The move comes as Snap's stock is trading at roughly half the conversion price for existing notes that are coming due soon. Its shares closed at $10.92 on Friday, compared with a conversion price of $21 to $23 for notes due this year and next, according to data compiled by Bloomberg," Rachel Graf and Gowri Gurumurthy write.

February 11, 2025

1 big thing: A-Rod closes in on T-Wolves