Dave Portnoy buys Barstool Sports back from PENN Entertainment just five months after relinquishing control in a $388M deal
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy has announced that he has repurchased the sports media company he founded from Penn Entertainment.
The Swampscott, Massachusetts resident said in a video that Penn had decided to end the relationship with Barstool and revert full ownership of the company to him.
Portnoy is back as sole owner of the company for the first time in nearly a decade – after The Chernin Group purchased a minority and then majority stake in the company.
After Penn took over the rest of Barstool in February of this year, Portnoy retained creative control over the site’s content.
According to him, Penn decided to go in a different direction after agreeing to a deal with ESPN – who had a frosty relationship with Barstool in the past.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy has brought the entire company back under his control
Penn Entertainment and Barstool Sports have gone their separate ways. As of this moment – as you watch this video – I bought back Barstool Sports from Penn,” Portnoy began.
Penn had bought a stake in Barstool for 36 percent of the company in January 2020, increasing their stake to about 50 percent by 2023.
Reports at the time of the Penn deal indicated that The Chernin Group would retain their 36 percent stake in the company. It is unclear if Chernin ended up selling their stake to Penn or if they sold it to Portnoy in this deal.
Of how the deal came about, Portnoy said, “We made this deal about three years ago, and I think both parties thought ‘we’re going to take this thing to the moon.'”
“We underestimated how difficult it is for me and Barstool to operate in a regulated world where gambling regulators, the New York Times and Business Insider agree with the share price. Every time we did something, it was one step forward two steps back.
For the first time since selling a stake to The Chernin Group, Portnoy is now in full control
‘My driver’s licenses have been refused. You name it. So the regulated industry is probably not the best place for Barstool Sports and the kind of content we create.”
“Penn was able to make an incredible deal with ESPN. We wish them nothing but the best in their endeavors. It really is a win-win situation.’
Portnoy went further, assuring his army of fans that Barstool was now a private company, that their content would return to the raunchy, irreverent work for which they became notorious.
“More importantly, for us, for Barstool, for the first time in ages we don’t have to watch what we say, how we talk, what we do. It’s back to the pirate ship.
‘By the way, I will never sell Barstool Sports (again), never. I’ll hold it till I die.’
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