Goldman Sachs Nears US$1 Billionโ Acquisitionโ of Excel Sports Management
Goldman Sachs’ asset management division is in advanced talks to acquire a majority stake in Excel Sports Management,โฃ teh agency representing โฃathletes including Tiger Woods and Caitlin Clark, according to The Financialโ Times. The deal, potentially announced next week, valuesโ Excel near US$1 billion.
The โคacquisition will see Goldman โฃSachs purchaseโ shares currently held by Shamrock Capital and Excel’s management team. This move signals Goldman Sachs’ increasing investmentโ inโฃ the sports industry, having established aโ global sports franchise division in 2023 to capitalize onโข growing investor interest.
Founded in 2002 โby Jeff Schwartz, โNew York-based Excel represents approximately 750 athletesโค across basketball, Americanโค football, golf, and baseball.โ Beyond โคathlete portrayal,โ the agency facilitates sponsorships and executive recruitment for sportsโค properties.
Excel was recently ranked as the third-most valuable sports โฃagency โฃby Forbes in July, reportingโค potential maximum commissions totaling US$783 million as of July 2025.The agency managesโค an estimated US$6.56โฃ billion in playing contracts and a furtherโข US$3.5 billion in non-playing contracts.
The potentialโ takeover โof Excel follows aโข trend of investment in sports agencies, including the โ2023 acquisition of a majority stake in โCreative Artists Agency (CAA) by Francois-Henri Pinaultโฃ at a reported US$7 billion โคvaluation. More recently, BC Partners invested โin GSE Worldwide and Velocity Capital Management secured shares in Unique Sports Group (USG). Silver Lake also completed its deal to takeโค Endeavor โฃGroup โฃprivate earlierโ this โyear.