Newly-crowned Masters champion Rory McIlroy and his investment firm Symphony Ventures has launched a sports investment fund in partnership with private equity firm TPG.
The two companies are forming TPG Sports, an investment firm that has plans to partner with a range of sporting companies, teams, and leagues. McIlroy and business colleague Sean O’Flaherty will serve as operating partners for the strategy and will be responsible for sourcing investments.
US-based firm TPG holds assets worth a combined $246 billion under management, with stakes in the likes of Creative Artists Agency, DirecTV and Spotify. It has previously partnered with McIlroy and O’Flaherty on several deals, including on an investment in golf course management specialist Troon Golf.
Under the Symphony Ventures banner, McIlroy has invested in golf tournament software platform Golf Genius and Puttery, an interactive mini-golf venture. He has also teamed up with NBC Sports on launching GolfPass, a direct-to-consumer golf platform, while most recently co-founded the TGL golf league alongside Tiger Woods and Mike McCarley through the TMRW Sports venture.
“The sports landscape is evolving in real time, and the ways we play, watch, and interact with sports are changing in exciting ways,” said McIlroy. “With TPG Sports, we have the capabilities, capital, and insights to invest behind and grow the businesses that are enabling this transformation.”
“The continued global rise in sports viewership and fandom is creating new opportunities that demand creative, growth capital,” added Todd Sisitsky, president of TPG. “TPG Sports brings together the hallmarks of our investment style – our bespoke and long-term approach to partnerships, deep operating and business-building capabilities, and a multi-decade ecosystem of industry leaders like Rory and his team – to invest behind and grow businesses that are redefining the future of sports.”