Aug 3, 2020
‘The Rock’, partners purchase XFL for $15M
It was announced on Monday that Dwayne "The Rock’’ Johnson, Dany Garcia, and RedBird Capital Partners were selected as the winning bidder for substantially all of the assets of Alpha Entertainment LLC, the parent company of the XFL, with the assets being sold to them for approximately $15 million.
TSN.ca Staff
It was announced on Monday that Dwayne "The Rock’’ Johnson, Dany Garcia, and RedBird Capital Partners were selected as the winning bidder for substantially all of the assets of Alpha Entertainment LLC, the parent company of the XFL, with the assets being sold to them for approximately $15 million.
The transaction is subject to a bankruptcy court approval on Friday, Aug. 7 and, assuming that closing conditions are satisfied, the deal is expected to close on Aug. 21 or shortly after.
The XFL, which lasted just one season after it was founded by the WWE’s Vince McMahon in 2001, restarted this year but was forced to halt operations midseason due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April, the league filed for bankruptcy.
"The acquisition of the XFL with my talented partners, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale, is an investment for me that’s rooted deeply in two things - my passion for the game and my desire to always take care of the fans," Johnson said in a statement. "With pride and gratitude for all that I’ve built with my own two hands, I plan to apply these callouses to the XFL, and look forward to creating something special for the players, fans, and everyone involved for the love of football."
"For Dwayne, Gerry and myself, this property represents an incredible opportunity. It is the confluence of great passion, tradition and possibility" Garcia said. "Sports and entertainment are the foundations of the businesses I have built. Melding our expertise combined with our commitment to deliver exciting and inspiring unique content, has us all focused on developing the XFL brand into a multi-media experience that our athletes, partners and fans will proudly embrace and love."
"It is a privilege to partner with Dany and Dwayne on the acquisition of the XFL," Gerry Cardinale, Founder and Managing Partner of RedBird Capital Partners, said. "Their track record in building dynamic businesses speaks for itself, and their vision and passion for developing the XFL as a world class sports and entertainment property will enable a new future for this organization. As their partner in acquiring and relaunching the XFL, RedBird will bring its own track record and experience in building world class companies in sports and live entertainment to help realize their vision."
"We are grateful for today’s outcome," Jeffrey Pollack, XFL President and COO. "This is a Hollywood ending to our sale process and it is an exciting new chapter for the league. Dwayne, Dany and Gerry are a dream team ownership group and the XFL is in the best possible hands going forward."