Legends announces majority investment from Sixth Street

Legends has signed an agreement to receive a majority investment from Sixth Street, a leading global investment firm who will lead Legends’ partnership group alongside co-founders YGE Holdings, an affiliate of the New York Yankees, and Jones Concessions, an affiliate of the Dallas Cowboys. 

Sixth Street’s investment will support the long-term growth of Legends’ global client relationships and further enhancements to its innovative 360-degree platform of premium experience offerings for the most iconic global brands in sports, entertainment and attractions.

Alan Waxman, Co-Founder and CEO of Sixth Street, said:

The Legends commitment to excellence, instilled from its inception, enabled it to grow a new category of holistic sports and entertainment services, and we are excited to be joining their culture of ‘winning together’. Legends will continue to stay on offence with an industry-leading management team doing what it does best: delivering value-creating projects and operations, innovating new technology-enabled service offerings, and creating immersive customer experiences.

Dallas Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones said:

We love the energy, vision and business-building experience that Sixth Street brings and how they plan to accelerate our long-term growth plans. Sixth Street’s culture focused on teamwork and creative solutions is a perfect fit as we continue to build on our strong foundation and set our sights on creating even more engaging experiences for customers.

New York Yankees owner, Hal Steinbrenner, said:

Premier global brands in sports, entertainment and attractions choose Legends because they recognise the unparalleled power of our integrated suite of services. Since its founding, Legends has benefited from a series of committed investment partners, each critical to a particular stage of development. We thank New Mountain Capital for its strategic support these past several years, and we look forward to embarking on this exciting new chapter with Sixth Street.

Shervin Mirhashemi, President and CEO of Legends, said:

The desire to live, play and experience has never been greater. Sixth Street’s transformational investment is going to help drive our next phase as the comprehensive partner of choice for the world’s leading sports and entertainment organisations. While this has been a challenging year for the sports and live entertainment industry, we passed the test, and are now positioned for stronger, even more resilient growth due to our unmatched 360-degree platform across planning, sales, partnerships, hospitality, merchandise and technology solutions.

Legends is partnered with many of the world’s most iconic sports, entertainment and attractions brands, including the New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, Real Madrid CF, SoFi Stadium, University of Notre Dame, The Ohio State University, Manchester City FC, LA Clippers, One World Observatory and Live Nation.

Legends’ clients benefit from comprehensive services through the Company’s six global divisions, each of which provide award-winning, best-in-class leadership from conception to execution.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter. Additional terms were not disclosed.

Moelis & Company LLC acted as lead financial advisor, BofA Securities, Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC acted as financial advisors, and Herrick & Feinstein LLP acted as legal advisor to Legends. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as sole financial advisor and Ropes & Gray LLP acted as legal advisor to Sixth Street. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP acted as legal advisor to certain members of the Legends partnership group.

About Legends

Founded in 2008, Legends is a premium experiences company with six divisions operating worldwide – Global Planning, Global Sales, Hospitality, Global Partnerships, Global Merchandise and Global Technology Solutions – offering clients and partners a 360-degree service solution platform to elevate their brand and execute their vision. Legends works with marquee clients across business verticals including professional sports; collegiate; attractions; entertainment; and conventions and leisure, and is an industry leader in designing, planning and realising exceptional experiences in sports and entertainment.