Premier Lacrosse League scores $100M Series E led by Tsai, Ares
What's the deal? The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) has raised a $100 million Series E round led by Alibaba co-founder Joe TsaiDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and funds of Ares ManagementDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Tsai, who owns the NBA's Brooklyn Nets and the WNBA's New York Liberty, first backed the league in 2019. Ares is a new investor.
Returning backers include ESPNDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which lifted the stake it took during last year's media rights extension, and David BlitzerDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s Bolt VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. New names span actors Rob MacDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Glen Powell, the Tisch family's Next 3Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Shumway CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → founder Chris ShumwayDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Why now? Co-founder and president Paul RabilDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → called the round a "turning point" as the league weighs a new business model.
The PLL currently runs as a single entity with eight league-owned teams. Leadership is eyeing structural changes, including selling those teams to outside investor-operators.
"What makes our business very attractive to investors also makes a business that's very difficult to run, because we are a team sports league that's fully owned as if it were the UFC or the WWE," Rabil said.
What could go wrong? New investment would come at the cost of total control, Rabil acknowledged. He said all options remain on the table.
The league declined to share financial performance or its valuation, though Rabil said each round has come at a "meaningful step-up."
The signal: Ares is fast becoming an influential sports dealmaker, and its arrival signals growing institutional appetite for niche leagues.
Jim Miller, who co-leads Ares' sports strategy, will join the PLL board alongside Tsai, ArctosDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →' Doc O'Connor, and others. The Raine GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → advised the league; Ares and Tsai had no financial adviser.
Tsai, who played lacrosse at Yale, also owns two National Lacrosse LeagueDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → teams.
Read more: Sports Business Journal · Forbes
