Barstool Sports Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
Barstool Sports was acquired by David Portnoy in August 2023.
Barstool Sports acquisition price
Undisclosed
Acquired by David Portnoy · Aug 2023
Barstool Sports revenue
$100M
Strategic investment · Jan 2020
Cumulative funding Barstool Sports raised
$178M
across 2 funding rounds
Key investors in Barstool Sports
About Barstool Sports
Barstool Sports is an American digital media company producing sports, pop culture and personality-driven content across its website, podcasts, video and social media. Dave Portnoy founded it in September 2003 in Milton, Massachusetts, as a free weekly paper handed out at Boston-area transit stops; it went online in 2007 and dropped print in 2010. Its properties include the podcasts Pardon My Take and Spittin' Chiclets, the Old Row blog, the Rough N Rowdy amateur boxing series and bars in Philadelphia, Scottsdale and Nashville, and it earns money from advertising, merchandise, live events, and betting and media partnerships; Vox estimated its 2019 revenue at $90-100 million. The Chernin Group bought a 51% stake in 2016, valuing Barstool at $10-15 million, after which headquarters moved to New York City. Penn National Gaming paid $135 million in cash and $28 million in preferred stock for 36% in January 2020, valuing the company at $450 million, and became sole owner for a further $388 million in February 2023. In August 2023 Penn sold Barstool back to Portnoy while keeping 50% of the gross proceeds of any future sale. Barstool has since signed a betting media partnership with DraftKings, a 2025 content deal with Fox Sports and a December 2025 agreement to put three video podcasts on Netflix.
Founded
2003
HQ
New York City, NYWebsite
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Advertising, Subscription
Revenue
$100M (Jan 2020)
Valuation
$450M (Jan 2020)
Barstool Sports Acquisition
Barstool Sports was acquired by David Portnoy for an undisclosed price on 8 August 2023.
Before the acquisition Barstool Sports had raised $178M across 2 funding rounds.
Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, reacquired full ownership of the company from Penn Entertainment on 8 August 2023. Penn divested Barstool back to Portnoy in connection with its new USD 2 billion agreement with ESPN to rebrand Barstool Sportsbook as ESPN Bet; the sale was intended to relieve Penn of non-compete and other restrictive covenants tied to its ownership of Barstool. Penn had bought a 36% stake in Barstool in January 2020 at a USD 450 million valuation and in February 2023 paid USD 388 million to become the sole owner. Portnoy said that the regulated gambling industry was probably not the best place for Barstool and the kind of content it produces. Barstool Sports was founded by Portnoy in Boston in 2003 as a free print newspaper and grew into a digital sports and pop-culture media company producing blogs, podcasts such as Pardon My Take and Spittin' Chiclets, video and live events, with revenue from advertising, merchandise and branded content. In February 2024 Barstool signed a sports betting media partnership with DraftKings.
| Acquirer | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Aug 2023 | Strategic M&A |
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Barstool Sports Valuation
Barstool Sports is currently valued at $450M, based on its strategic investment round in January 2020. Read the announcement ↗
The $163M round was led by PENN Entertainment.
Barstool Sports' valuation has grown 4.5x from $100M at its undisclosed-stage round in January 2018 to $450M in January 2020, across 2 priced rounds.
Barstool Sports valuation by funding round
Revenue multiple| Date | Stage | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2020 | Strategic investment | $450M | 4.5x |
| Jan 2018 | Undisclosed stage | $100M | - |
Barstool Sports Revenue
Barstool Sports' latest recorded revenue is $100M, as of its strategic investment round in January 2020. At a $450M valuation, that implies a 4.5x revenue multiple.
Barstool Sports revenue by funding round
| Date | Revenue * | Valuation | Revenue Multiple | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2020 | $100M | $450M | 4.5x | Strategic investment |
* Revenue (or ARR) figures are the values recorded alongside each funding round. Typically run-rate revenue at the time of the deal, or a reported LTM (last 12 months) revenue.
Barstool Sports Funding History
Barstool Sports has raised a total of $178M across 2 funding rounds.
Barstool Sports' first fundraising round was a $15M undisclosed-stage round in January 2018. The most recent completed round was a $163M strategic investment round in January 2020.
Barstool Sports funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2020 | Strategic investment | PENN Entertainment (lead) | $163M | $450M | Barstool Sports is a digital-media brand focused on sports content and entertainment that has built a significant following among millennial audiences. In February 2020, the company entered into a strategic partnership with Penn National, a US casino operator, whereby Penn acquired a 36% equity stake in Barstool Sports for $163 million, valuing the company at $450 million on a post-money basis. Penn National, which operates casinos in states where sports betting is legal, made Barstool its exclusive gaming partner. As part of the deal structure, Penn planned to invest an additional $62 million after three years to increase its stake to approximately 50%, and the companies announced plans to launch a Barstool-branded sportsbook in retail casinos and a betting app in August 2020. The Chernin Group, which owned 60% of Barstool before the transaction, retained 36% ownership post-close, with the remainder held by Barstool employees. The transaction reflected a broader trend of gaming and casino companies seeking to partner with established media brands to gain national reach and reduce customer acquisition costs in the competitive sports betting market. PENN's broader acquisition strategy eventually resulted in full ownership, with the company acquiring the remaining 64% stake at a later date for approximately $388 million, bringing total consideration to roughly $525 million. |
| Jan 2018 | Undisclosed stage | TCG (lead) | $15M | $100M | Barstool Sports is an irreverent sports and lifestyle media platform targeting a young male demographic. In January 2018, it received $15 million in funding from The Chernin Group (TCG), its majority owner, in a deal valuing the company at approximately $100 million. TCG had previously acquired a 51% stake in 2016. The funding brought TCG's total investment to $25 million. Barstool expanded into event promotion by acquiring amateur boxing promoter Rough N Rowdy in November 2016. The company aimed to grow its team to 160 people, expand events, and enter areas like branded alcohol or bars, with founder Dave Portnoy targeting a $250 million valuation within five years. Barstool faced commercial challenges due to its anti-politically correct ethos, including the cancellation of a partnership with ESPN in October 2017 over abusive comments. |
Who has invested in Barstool Sports?
2 investors have backed Barstool Sports across its funding rounds, including TCG and PENN Entertainment.
Lead investors include PENN Entertainment and TCG.
Barstool Sports Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 2 Barstool Sports investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialAcquisitions by Barstool Sports
Barstool Sports has acquired 2 companies to date.
Last acquisition by Barstool Sports was on December 21st 2021. Barstool Sports acquired The Water Coolest for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by Barstool Sports
![](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20"><rect fill="%23e5e7eb" width="20" height="20" rx="4"/></svg>){kind=small} Rough N Rowdy Brawl | ||
| Description | The Water Coolest is a digital media outlet delivering daily newsletters on business news, market analysis, and unfiltered commentary. Based online, it caters to professionals seeking concise updates on financial developments and industry trends without traditional media bias. | Rough N Rowdy Brawl is an American amateur boxing event series that began in West Virginia and has been owned by Barstool Sports since November 2017. Before the acquisition it was an independent amateur boxing contest that had already built a pay-per-view audience: its March 2017 card sold 13,000 pay-per-view buys. Barstool founder Dave Portnoy attended twice before buying the business, calling it unlike anything he had seen, and announced the deal at a press conference in November 2017 as Barstool's second corporate acquisition after Old Row. He said revenue from Barstool's controversy with ESPN over Barstool Van Talk helped fund the purchase. Under Barstool the first event was held on 15 December 2017, and the plan was to add Barstool personalities, reality-style features on fighters' lives and rivalries, and expansion beyond West Virginia to states such as North Carolina, South Carolina, New York and Massachusetts. Events have since been staged regularly, including at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, West Virginia. The business earns revenue from pay-per-view and streaming sales, ticket sales and sponsorship. |
| HQ Country | | |
| HQ City | - | Charleston, SC |
| Deal Date | 21 Dec 2021 | 10 Nov 2017 |
| Valuation | undisclosed | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | ||
| EV/EBITDA | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Barstool Sports acquisitions and their M&A valuation multiples. Start Free Trial | ||
Barstool Sports Competitors
Barstool Sports competitors include listed companies like Hengxin Shambala Culture and Saregama India, and private ones like Minute Media, Vidaa, Atmosphere and Skybound Entertainment.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 London | Private | $300M | - | $1B | 3.3x | |
| Atlanta, GA | Private | - | - | $583M | - | |
| Austin, TX | Private | $25M | - | $1B | 40.0x | |
| Los Angeles, CA | Private | $64M | - | $651M | - | |
 China | Publicly listed | $59M | ($44M) | $283M | - | |
 India | Publicly listed | $101M | $36M | $1.1B | 9.7x |
Barstool Sports Public Comps
Barstool Sports is no longer listed, but its public comps include Zhejiang Talent TV & Film, Cover, Ciwen Media Co, Zee Entertainment, Huayi Brothers, Viaplay, Tron, Angel Studios, TV Tokyo Holdings and CJ ENM.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $17M | ($52M) | 36.4x | - | (11.8x) | - | |||
| $312M | $34M | 1.7x | 1.6x | 16.0x | 8.6x | |||
| $60M | ($516K) | 9.8x | - | (1139.1x) | - | |||
| $853M | $43M | 0.4x | 0.4x | 7.1x | 6.0x | |||
| $47M | ($15M) | 15.2x | - | (48.5x) | - | |||
| $1.8B | ($40M) | 0.6x | 0.5x | (28.1x) | 9.8x | |||
| $5M | ($17M) | 133.2x | - | (38.0x) | - | |||
| $322M | ($149M) | 2.1x | 1.4x | (4.6x) | (17.4x) | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Barstool Sports competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Barstool Sports
| When was Barstool Sports founded? | Barstool Sports was founded in 2003. |
| Where is Barstool Sports headquartered? | Barstool Sports is headquartered in New York City, NY, United States. |
| Is Barstool Sports publicly listed? | No, Barstool Sports was acquired by David Portnoy in August 2023. |
| Who acquired Barstool Sports? | Barstool Sports was acquired by David Portnoy in August 2023. |
| What is Barstool Sports' valuation? | Barstool Sports was last valued at $450M in its strategic investment round in January 2020. |
| How much funding has Barstool Sports raised? | Barstool Sports has raised $178M across 2 funding rounds. |
| What was Barstool Sports' last funding round? | Barstool Sports' last funding round was a $163M strategic investment round in January 2020, led by PENN Entertainment. |
| Who are Barstool Sports' investors? | Barstool Sports' investors include TCG and PENN Entertainment. |
| What is Barstool Sports' revenue? | Barstool Sports' latest recorded revenue is $100M (January 2020). |
| What is Barstool Sports' revenue multiple? | Barstool Sports' latest valuation implies a 4.5x revenue multiple ($450M valuation on $100M of revenue). |
| Which companies are comparable to Barstool Sports? | Companies comparable to Barstool Sports include Minute Media, Vidaa, Atmosphere, Skybound Entertainment, Hengxin Shambala Culture and Saregama India. |
| How many companies has Barstool Sports acquired? | Barstool Sports has acquired 2 companies, including The Water Coolest and Rough N Rowdy Brawl. |
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