College sports giant Learfield set to be acquired by TPG for $1.8 Billion

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2026/04/14/college-sports-giant-learfield-finalizing-sale-to-private-equity-firm/

Private equity firm TPG is finalizing the purchase of Learfield to make it the majority owner of one of the most prominent multimedia rights and technology providers in college athletics, Sports Business Journal has learned.

Industry sources told SBJ the sale price is somewhere between $1.8B and $2B. Learfield and TPG declined to discuss terms of the deal, including specifics on any up-front cash infusion. The company’s EBITDA and the revenue multiple TPG is paying could not be determined.

The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to standard approvals and closing conditions.

Current co-owner Charlesbank will remain on in a minority position, while Fortress Investment Group will exit as part of the sale.

Learfield has been engaged in high-level conversations around a potential sale for months, vetting options that ranged from doing nothing to taking on new capital from its current ownership or selling a controlling stake to a new ownership group, as it is now in the process of doing.

SBJ reported in November the company was weighing options, while engaging Moelis & Co. and Bank of America to assist in their explorations. Evercore served as lead financial advisor to TPG, with The Raine Group also advising. Ropes & Gray LLP and Mintz served as legal counsel. Learfield was advised by Moelis & Co. and BofA Securities, with Davis Polk as legal counsel.

“We started hearing from a number of prospective investors about 18 months ago,” Learfield CEO/President Cole Gahagan told SBJ. “We made the decision that based on the convergence of two factors — the company doing really well and investor interest being really high — it was the right time to start having conversations, which we opened midway through last year and could not have landed with a better partner than TPG.”

TPG sold its stake in CAA in 2023, but currently backs Initial Group, which acquired Silver Tribe Media — a Los Angeles-based digital media outfit that counts Omaha Productions, and Taylor Lewan and Will Compton’s “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast among its clients — in December. TPG has also worked with PGA star Rory McIlroy, teaming up with his investment firm, Symphony Ventures, in May 2025 to create “TPG Sports.”

The company will invest in Learfield through TPG Capital, its U.S. and European private equity platform, and TPG Sports.

“We’ve looked at the business multiple times and, for us, this time represents the most compelling period, when you think about the ongoing needs universities have to grow revenue and support student athletes,” McGoohan said. “Learfield is very well positioned to help its university partners continue to grow.”

That Learfield is being sold to a private equity firm comes amid a push by outside investors to dig into the college sports space. The Big Ten previously engaged in lengthy discussions with UC Investments around a potential $2.4B cash infusion, while the Big 12 has had advanced discussions on a deal with RedBird Capital over the last six months.

Utah became the first school to close an individual private equity deal through its agreement with Otro Capital that could generate in the neighborhood of $500M for the school.

The purchase of Learfield is seen as a potential play by TPG to further ingrain itself in college sports in a more wholesale way, giving it access to Learfield’s hundreds of clients, rather than piecing together deals school by school.

The space TPG now enters is evolving rapidly. Learfield, Playfly, JMI Sports and a handful of others remain major players in the multimedia rights business, though a growing number of schools have brought elements of those operations in-house.

How significantly that shift will impact the traditional MMR model is a longer-term question. However, Learfield has adapted to the market in recent years, shifting away from massive guarantees to more revenue split-centric deals that create upside for the company and schools with less downside risk.

Learfield has also been a key resource for athletic departments leaning on third-party providers to assist with outside NIL dollars. With what’s essentially become a “soft” cap for player compensation developed through the House settlement, schools are looking to drive more uncapped revenue through NIL and sponsorship activations.

“The structure of the company and the mission remains the same,” Gahagan said of Learfield’s future. “The opportunity set ahead of us is more expansive than it otherwise would’ve been because we’re bringing such a robust partner in TPG to the table and adding capital to the balance sheet at the same time.”