LionTree Advisors LLC is investing in baseball’s Iron Man.
The investment and merchant bank is taking a minority stake in Cal Ripken Jr.’s company, adding another sports-related asset to a portfolio that includes the Athletic, a sports news site, data technology company Second Spectrum and FuboTV.
Neither Ripken, who is best known for playing a Major League Baseball record 2,632 consecutive games, nor LionTree founder Aryeh Bourkoff would disclose terms of the deal.
“Growing up in Baltimore, I was witness to how Cal, his legacy, company, and brand represent a universal message of hard work,” Bourkoff said. “We are excited to use our firm’s business development skills, technology experience and M&A expertise to support Cal and Bill’s vision.”
Founded in the late 1990s by Ripken and his brother Bill, Ripken Baseball hosts tournaments, camps and spring training events across three facilities, in Aberdeen, Maryland; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It also offers digital streaming of tournaments and sells gear and coaching tutorials online.
The company will use the investment to expand in the U.S. and launch new digital products aimed at kids. Bourkoff will join the company’s board.
“I’m really interested in the kids side, exploring the digital world, the content world,” said Ripken, who was an All Star during 19 of his 21 years with the Baltimore Orioles. “We don’t have that kind of expertise in-house. If we had the right partner that did, that would allow us to move faster.”
Bourkoff, a veteran of UBS Group AG, started LionTree alongside Ehren Stenzler in 2012 to work on deals in the technology, media and telecommunications industry. The firm has worked with clients including Dell Inc. in its buyout of EMC Corp., Verizon Communications Inc. in its takeover of Yahoo Inc. assets, and has advised John Malone’s Liberty Global Plc.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.