Sports Illustrated publisher Arena Group has received another multi-million investment. Per Front Office Sports’ A.J. Perez, Manoj Bhargava has sunk another $12 million into Arena Group, paying for 5.5 million shares of the company.
In August, Bhargava, the founder of 5-Hour Energy, announced his intent to purchase 65% of Arena Group for $50 million. In January, the Authentic Brands Group revoked Arena’s license to publish SI, leading to a round of layoffs and a huge decline in the value of Arena Group’s stock. The stock has since rebounded.
Manoj Bhargava, the billionaire founder of 5-Hour Energy, purchased 5.5M more shares in the Arena Group, the media company that (for now) runs Sports Illustrated. His $12M investment will "help sustain the company" as it seeks to merge with another Bhargava-owned media company.
— A.J. Perez (@byajperez) February 14, 2024
In a release, Arena notes that the investment of Bhargava and his Simplify Inventions increased their equity stake to 54.5% of Arena Group. Bhargava intends to merge Arena Group with Bridge Media Networks.
The release also mentions that Arena “will continue to publish the print and digital editions of Sports Illustrated” until a $45 million claim by Authentic against Arena is resolved.
“The news of our demise is a little early," Bhargava said in a statement. "We’re not going anywhere.”
In the same statement, The Arena Group says it will "continue to publish the print and digital editions of Sports Illustrated."
— A.J. Perez (@byajperez) February 14, 2024
Just before the Super Bowl, Sports Illustrated announced that Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Super Bowl winning quarterback Patrick Mahomes, would be posing as a rookie for the magazine’s swimsuit edition.
There are likely to be many twists and turns ahead for the magazine but for now it appears to have some kind of future, at least if Bhargava has his way. But it may still be a bumpy ride ahead for the legacy publication and whatever is left standing at the end of the drama.
