US-based online sports media platform Barstool Sports has received $15m in funding from media holding company The Chernin Group, its majority owner, in a deal that valued it at approximately $100m, Bloomberg has reported.
Barstool’s core offering is an irreverent sports and lifestyle media platform that targets a young male demographic. Chernin paid an undisclosed amount for a 51% stake at the start of 2016, and Barstool CEO Erika Nardini told Bloomberg it has now invested $25m in total.
The company moved into event promotion through the acquisition of amateur boxing promoter Rough N Rowdy in November 2016, but it has run into trouble commercially over its anti-politically correct ethos.
Barstool’s partnership deal with mainstream sports broadcaster ESPN was cancelled in October 2017 after abusive and misogynistic comments from founder Dave Portnoy were made public.
Portnoy told Bloomberg last week that he aims to increase the company’s valuation to $250m within the next five years. It plans to double the size of its team to 160, expand Rough N Rowdy and move into additional areas such as branded alcohol or even its own bar.