Spire Capital's investment in the PBR was completed this afternoon. The regulatory approval and closing of the transaction was made official today following the April 12 vote of the current shareholders of the PBR. Spire has now become the majority investor in the leading global professional bull riding organization.
"We are thrilled to be partners with Randy Bernard, Ty Murray, Tom Teague and all of the Directors of the PBR who will continue as meaningful shareholders," said Rick Patterson, a managing member of Spire Capital Partners. "It is exciting that more than 15 of the leading active riders will be shareholders, continuing the tradition started by the cowboys in 1992. These men have created one of the great sports franchises in America's history."
Announcing the closing of the partnership, Randy Bernard, Chief Executive Officer of PBR, stated, "We are very excited about the progress the sport has made in the last 15 years but even more excited about the direction for the next 15 years. This affiliation with Spire Capital Partners is going to allow us to set the bar for professional bull riding even higher."
Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., PBR was founded in 1992 by 20 accomplished bull riders who had a vision to make bull riding a stand-alone sport. PBR currently operates four domestic tours, including the Built Ford Tough Series presented by Wrangler, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company Challenger Tour, Enterprise Rent-A-Car Tour and Discovery Tour, and has a rapidly growing presence in international markets, including Brazil, Mexico, Australia and Canada. The strength of the PBR brand and the loyalty of the fan base have enabled the PBR to attract an impressive roster of blue-chip sponsors and partners. PBR's competitions can be viewed regularly on its cable channel partner, VERSUS, every Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 p.m. ET. In addition, the PBR will have eight events televised on the FOX and NBC networks in 2007.
Terms of the transaction will not be disclosed.
About PBR:
More than 100 million viewers tune in each year to the PBR on FOX, NBC, VERSUS and on a host of foreign networks across the globe. With approximately 500 hours of prime time programming annually PBR ranks among the most prolific sports on air, in addition to attracting over one and one half million live event attendees each year with its multi-tiered event structure which includes the marquee Built Ford Tough Series presented by Wrangler, the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company Challenger Tour, the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Tour, and the Discovery Tour, designed specifically for entry level contestants. The PBR is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., and has over 1,200 PBR bull riders competing in more than 300 PBR sanctioned competitions in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico.
For additional information on the Professional Bull Riders, Inc., please visit www.pbrnow.com or call 719.471.3008.
About Spire Capital Partners:
Spire Capital Partners, L.P. is a private equity firm founded in 2000 with more than $350 million of capital under management. Spire partners with exceptional management teams to invest in middle market buyouts, recapitalizations, industry consolidations and growth equity investments in the media, communications, information services and business services industries. Spire typically invests in companies with enterprise values from $25 million to $150 million. Since its founding, Spire has successfully made investments in approximately 30 portfolio companies. SkyMall, Sonitrol and American Community Newspapers are among Spire's current portfolio companies. The firm is headquartered in New York. For further information, please visit our website at www.spirecapital.com.
