William Bolton Editor


Comment September 2023


I’ve heard of a fire sale, but what PENN has done with Barstool is incredible. If you’ve been hiding under a rock, PENN's online Barstool Sportsbook will be rebranded ESPN Bet later this year after entering into a $1.5bn agreement with ESPN and ESPN Enterprises. ESPN Bet, operated by PENN Interactive, will access ‘exclusive promotional services across ESPN platforms’ including ‘programming, content, and access to ESPN talent’.


Chief beneficiary of the eye watering exchange is Barstool's Founder, David Portnoy, who purchased the brand for one dollar in exchange for certain non- compete and other restrictive covenants. It's quite something to buy an asset that was purchased only a few months ago at around $550m for 100 cents.


Unsurprisingly, Portney has since stated he will never sell Barstool. In a video announcement, Portney added that “we underestimated just how tough it is for myself and Barstool to operate in a regulated world. We got denied licences because of me. So the regulated industry is probably not the best place for Barstool Sports and the type of content we make.”


IT'S QUITE SOMETHING TO BUY AN ASSET THAT WAS PURCHASED ONLY A FEW MONTHS AGO AT AROUND $550M FOR 100 CENTS.


Penn stated in a filing that the deal with Portnoy for Barstool will result in a ‘pre-tax non-cash’ loss of between $800m and $850m — inclusive of $705m to $720m in ‘goodwill and intangible assets write-offs’ — related to disposal of the business. PENN has the right to receive 50 per cent of the gross proceeds received by Portnoy in any subsequent sale or monetisation of Barstool.


“We’ve had a great three-and-a-half-year run with our partners at Barstool,” Penn Entertainment's CEO and President, Jay Snowden, told analysts. “It just became obvious to both parties that there’s probably long term only one natural owner of Barstool Sports, and that’s Dave Portnoy.” Obvious? The only thing that’s obvious here is that there’s much, much more to this.


EDITORIAL ADVERTISING G3 Editor


William Bolton


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G3Newswire Editor Phil Martin


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Managing Director Lewis Pek


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Contributors Erwin van Lambaart, Hugo Baumgartner, Christophe Casanova, Steven Spartinos, George Fotopoulos, Allan Petrilli, Guy Warren, Halvor Dahl, Andy Huang, Ivo Georgiev, Jacob Lopez Curciel, Agnes Wasikowska, Aram Khachatryan.


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