Alternative Investments in Sports: Evaluating Hedge Fund & Private Equity Strategies and Financial Performance

The increasing involvement of private capital in the professional sports sector – through equity stakes in teams, media rights, infrastructure investments and sponsorships deals, marks a significant pillar in the financialization of non-traditional assets classes. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the return on investments and risk-return profile of such investments and compare them to more traditional assets classes, such as public equities and bonds. To achieve such objective, a combination of financial analysis, benchmarking techniques and detailed case studies will be utilized - including Liberty Media’s acquisition of Formula 1, Silver Lake’s stake in City Football Group, and Apollo Global Management’s involvement in SoFi Stadium - the study evaluates return metrics, investment time horizons, and liquidity considerations. The data used across this thesis will be primary based on publicly available sources such as Bloomberg, PitchBook, Preqin, and Deloitte's Football Money League, with a geographic focus on North America and Europe. This study serves as a way to highlight a current growing body of research on alternative investments’ trends and presents a unique intersection between finance, private capital and the global sports economy, offering a structured financial evaluation of a niche but yet expanding asset class.