PRESS RELEASE: LEGENDS ANNOUNCES MAJORITY INVESTMENT FROM SIXTH STREET TO ACCELERATE LONG-TERM GROWTH
Legends (“Legends” or the “Company”) today announced that it signed an agreement to receive a majority investment from Sixth Street, a leading global investment firm. Sixth Street will lead the Legends partnership group alongside co-founders YGE Holdings, LLC, an affiliate of the New York Yankees, and Jones Concessions LP, an affiliate of the Dallas Cowboys. The new investment from Sixth Street will support the long-term growth of the Company’s global client relationships and further enhancements to its innovative 360-degree platform of premium experience offerings for the most iconic global brands in sports, entertainment, and attractions.
“The Legends commitment to excellence, instilled from its inception, enabled it to grow a new category of holistic sports and entertainment services, and we are excited to be joining their culture of ‘winning together’,” said Alan Waxman, Co-Founder and CEO of Sixth Street. “Legends will continue to stay on offense with an industry-leading management team doing what it does best: delivering value-creating projects and operations, innovating new technology-enabled service offerings, and creating immersive customer experiences.”
“We love the energy, vision, and business-building experience that Sixth Street brings and how they plan to accelerate our long-term growth plans,” said Jerry Jones. “Sixth Street’s culture focused on teamwork and creative solutions is a perfect fit as we continue to build on our strong foundation and set our sights on creating even more engaging experiences for customers.”
“Premier global brands in sports, entertainment, and attractions choose Legends because they recognize the unparalleled power of our integrated suite of services,” said Hal Steinbrenner. “Since its founding, Legends has benefited from a series of committed investment partners, each critical to a particular stage of development. We thank New Mountain Capital for its strategic support these past several years, and we look forward to embarking on this exciting new chapter with Sixth Street.”
“The desire to live, play, and experience has never been greater. Sixth Street’s transformational investment is going to help drive our next phase as the comprehensive partner of choice for the world’s leading sports and entertainment organizations,” said Shervin Mirhashemi, President and CEO of Legends. “While this has been a challenging year for the sports and live entertainment industry, we passed the test and are now positioned for stronger, even more resilient growth due to our unmatched 360-degree platform across planning, sales, partnerships, hospitality, merchandise, and technology solutions.”
Legends is partnered with many of the world’s most iconic sports, entertainment, and attractions brands, including the New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, Real Madrid CF, SoFi Stadium, University of Notre Dame, The Ohio State University, Manchester City FC, LA Clippers, One World Observatory, and Live Nation. Legends’ clients benefit from comprehensive services through the Company’s six global divisions, each of which provide award-winning, best-in-class leadership from conception to execution.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter. Additional terms were not disclosed.
Moelis & Company LLC acted as lead financial advisor, BofA Securities, Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC acted as financial advisors, and Herrick & Feinstein LLP acted as legal advisor to Legends. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as sole financial advisor and Ropes & Gray LLP acted as legal advisor to Sixth Street. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP acted as legal advisor to certain members of the Legends partnership group.
About Legends
Founded in 2008, Legends is a premium experiences company with six divisions operating worldwide – Global Planning, Global Sales, Hospitality, Global Partnerships, Global Merchandise, and Global Technology Solutions – offering clients and partners a 360-degree service solution platform to elevate their brand and execute their vision. Currently, Legends works with marquee clients across business verticals including professional sports; collegiate; attractions; entertainment; and conventions and leisure. Legends is the industry leader in designing, planning, and realizing exceptional experiences in sports and entertainment. For more information, visit www.Legends.net and follow Legends at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @TheLegendsWay.
About Sixth Street
Sixth Street is a global investment firm with over $50 billion in assets under management and committed capital. Sixth Street operates nine diversified, collaborative investment platforms: TAO, Growth, Specialty Lending, Fundamental Strategies, Infrastructure, Opportunities, Insurance, Agriculture, and Credit Market Strategies. Our long-term oriented, highly flexible capital base and “One Team” cultural philosophy allow us to invest thematically across sectors, geographies and asset classes. Founded in 2009, Sixth Street has more than 320 team members including over 145 investment professionals operating from nine locations around the world. For more information, visit www.sixthstreet.com or follow us on LinkedIn.