Goldman Sachs (GS) Nears $1B Mega-Deal to Acquire Excel Sports Management
Wall Street's golden child just flexed its M&A muscles again.
Goldman Sachs is reportedly finalizing a $1 billion takeover of Excel Sports Management—because why innovate when you can just buy the competition?
The move signals GS's latest play to dominate the sports finance arena. No surprise—traditional banks love scoring cheap points through acquisitions rather than organic growth.
Excel brings top-tier athlete partnerships and media rights deals to the table. For Goldman? Another trophy asset to stuff in its portfolio while pretending it's 'disrupting' finance.
Deal expected to close by Q1 2026—assuming regulators don't bench this power play.
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Tiger Talent
According to an article in the Financial Times, Goldman’s asset management division is in late-stage talks to secure the stake in the sports talent agency, which represents stars like golfing legend Tiger Woods, basketball star Caitlin Clark and Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
Excel was founded by sports super-agent Jeff Schwartz, who left International Management Group (IMG) in 2002 to start his own agency. It was originally focused on the sport of basketball, but has now evolved to cover the main American pastimes like baseball and football.
Goldman WOULD be buying the stake from entertainment-focused private equity group Shamrock Capital and Excel’s management team.
The deal, which could be announced as soon as next week, shows the bounce in value of and demand for sports franchises, athletes contracts, media rights and endorsements.
Bouncing Value
In 2023, TPG (TPG) sold Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to the family office of French billionaire François-Henri Pinault for $7 billion, a major gain after initially buying a stake at a $1.1 billion valuation nearly a decade earlier.
Other recent deals include BC Partners’ credit arm acquiring a stake in sports agency GSE Worldwide to expand into golf, tennis and football, and Silver Lake’s $13 billion take-private of Endeavor earlier this year.
The deal would also mark the expansion of Goldman Sachs Asset management’s footprint into mid-sized corporate buyouts and private loans.
Earlier this month, Goldman acquired venture capital firm Industry Ventures for nearly $1 billion. It has not been the easiest year for Goldman Sachs and other investment banks looking to do deals. That’s because of economic uncertainty around President Trump’s tariffs policy and higher interest rates.
However, as can be seen above, its appetite for investments has been back on FORM since the middle of the year.
Is GS a Good Stock to Buy Now?
On TipRanks, GS has a Moderate Buy consensus based on 5 Buy and 7 Hold ratings. Its highest price target is $870. GS stock’s consensus price target is $824.50, implying a 9.82% upside.
