NBA Star Baron Davis Joins Frenzy With Bull Horn SPAC
NBA Star Baron Davis Joins Frenzy With Bull Horn SPAC
(Bloomberg) -- Baron Davis, the two-time NBA All Star, is getting in the blank-check game.
Davis is joining the board of Bull Horn Holdings Corp., a new special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, that intends to seek out a target in the sports, media or entertainment industries, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The company, led by chief executive officer Robert Striar, has held early discussions with prospective institutional investors about raising $75 million, said the people, who requested anonymity because the talks are private.
A Bull Horn representative declined to comment while Davis didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bull Horn intends to seek out a deal with an enterprise value of $350 million to $900 million, and its target could be a sports franchise, a sports technology company or a sports-linked media and entertainment firm, the presentation shows.
Bull Horn -- which could publicly file with the Securities and Exchange Commission as soon as Friday -- has told investors that it believes there’s a valuation gap between the U.S. and Europe. Teams including the New York Jets, Oakland A’s and Memphis Grizzlies have seen their valuations increase at a more rapid clip between 2010 and 2020 than European teams such as Aston Villa, Inter Milan and Wolverhampton Wanderers, its presentation shows.
Striar is also president of M Style Marketing, an agency that specializes in sports, entertainment and consumer products. He’s set to be joined on Bull Horn’s board by Davis, former Inter Milan chief revenue officer Michael Gandler and Stephen Master, Nielsen’s former global head of sports, among others.
Davis, a point guard, was on teams including the Charlotte Hornets, the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks. His prior investments include Popchips and Glaceau Vitaminwater, according to Crunchbase.
Bull Horn isn’t the only SPAC seeking to make a sports-related wager. RedBall Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company co-led by Billy Beane, the baseball executive featured in “Moneyball,” went public in August. And earlier this week, Sports Entertainment Acquisition Corp., led by former National Football League and National Hockey League executives, filed to raise $350 million.
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