KKR's $1.4 billion sports bet started with a decade-old relationship

"We have known Ian Charles, the founder, for a long time: a decade plus. You know, sometimes you meet somebody and say, wow, they're really capable, and you would love to have him as part of our team. It was that kind of a moment. Sadly, he worked somewhere else at the time."

"In 2016, KKR was looking for a secondaries specialist to help free up capital and worked with Charles, who at the time worked at Landmark Partners, a major secondaries investor later acquired by Ares. The collaboration helped lay the groundwork for KKR's healthcare and tech growth platforms, which now manage more than $17 billion."

"Charles went on to cofound Arctos in 2019, and the firm has fast become one of the biggest players in sports investing. It is the only firm with private equity stakes in all five major men's professional sports leagues in the US, including ownership stakes in the LA Dodgers, the Golden State Warriors, and the Buffalo Bills."

KKR's $1.4 billion acquisition of Arctos Partners in February resulted from a relationship spanning over a decade. In 2016, KKR engaged Ian Charles, then at Landmark Partners, as a secondaries specialist to support capital deployment and help establish KKR's healthcare and tech growth platforms, now managing over $17 billion. Charles later cofounded Arctos in 2019, which became a leading sports investment firm with private equity stakes across all five major U.S. professional sports leagues and international teams including Liverpool FC and Paris Saint-Germain. Sports investing has grown significantly, with record acquisition volumes in 2025.

Read at Business Insider