2021 MLB champions, the Braves will thus become the only club directly listed among the major leagues of American sport. (Photo: 123RF)
New York — The Liberty Media group announced Thursday a reorganization of its activities which will lead to the IPO of the Braves baseball club ofAtlantawhich will become the only listed major American sports team.
The group controlled by tycoon John Malone had acquired the franchise of the North American Baseball Championship (MLB) in 2007, until then owned by the Time Warner group.
He had already put on the market, in 2016, shares denominated Liberty Braves, associated with the team.
But these were so-called ‘tracing’ or ‘reflecting’ titles, which only reflected the performance of the company, but did not actually amount to a share of the club.
As part of the overhaul announced Thursday in a press release, Liberty Media will this time split the Atlanta Braves and real estate assets from the rest of the group, which will now be united in a new company, Atlanta Braves Holdings.
Liberty Media will then exchange the so-called “reflection” shares for new Atlanta Braves Holdings securities. These will be classic actions, which will guarantee their holders a share of the team.
2021 MLB champions, the Braves will thus become the only club directly listed among the major major leagues in American sport.
Some clubs, such as the Knicks (NBA), the New York Rangers (NHL) or the Toronto Blue Jays (MLB) belong to listed companies, but only represent one of the assets of their parent company.
The Green Bay Packers franchise of the American football league NFL has a diversified shareholding, open to retail investors, but it is not listed.
In the past, the Boston Celtics (NBA), Panthers (NHL) and Indians (MLB) were all publicly traded, before being bought out by investors who delisted them.
In the world of professional sport in general, listed clubs remain the exception, with only a few examples in Europe such as Manchester United, AS Roma or Borussia Dortmund, in football.
“Essentially, nothing will change in the way the Atlanta Braves (…) operate on a daily basis,” Terry McGuirk, CEO of Braves Holdings, the club’s current control structure, said in a statement.
He also specified that Liberty Media would remain involved in the company’s strategy, “as a holding company”, which suggests that John Malone’s group intends to remain a reference shareholder.
Asked by AFP to know the amount of its stake in the new listed entity, Liberty Media did not respond.
The split comes as the value of American professional sports franchises has skyrocketed in recent years. According to Forbes magazine, that of the Atlanta Braves has almost tripled in ten years and now amounts to 2.1 billion US dollars.
