Warner Bros. Discovery acquired Play Sports Group, a transaction completed in January 2019, structured as Acquisition of a majority (controlling) equity stake, moving Discovery from minority investor to majority owner.
Play Sports Group operates in Discovery Sports / digital direct-to-consumer, is based in United Kingdom. Play Sports Group is a UK-based digital sports media company and the operator of the Global Cycling Network (GCN) and Global Mountain Bike Network (GMBN), YouTube-first channels built around cycling and mountain-biking fans. Discovery moved from being a minority investor to holding a majority stake, taking control of the business to build out a global direct-to-consumer cycling platform. The move deepened Discovery's push into sports passion-verticals alongside its Eurosport cycling rights.
Give Discovery control of a fast-growing digital cycling audience to anchor a global cycling platform that complements its Eurosport live-rights portfolio and expands its direct-to-consumer sports strategy.
Advisory firms were not disclosed for this transaction.