Former NBA basketball player Yao Ming’s investment company has acquired “a significant stake” in Glory Sports International, the parent company of Glory Kickboxing. Per a Glory press release on Monday, it has completed a Series B financing led by Yao Capital.
Via Glory press release:
Focusing on growth stage sports & entertainment investment opportunities, Yao Capital was founded by former NBA superstar Yao Ming, veteran investor David Han, the former Chief Investment Officer of Wanda Group and former Managing Director of The Carlyle Group, and Erik Zhang, Yao Ming’s long-time business partner and Team Yao leader.
“To me, the sport of kickboxing is a synonym for courage, grit and the will to succeed,” said Yao Ming, Chairman and co-founder, Yao Capital. “As kickboxing is gaining worldwide popularity among the younger generation, Yao Capital is pleased to partner with GLORY, the world’s number one league in this field. Today, we join forces to promote the sport of kickboxing and encourage more young people to be involved in this sport to become the hero in their own life.”
Payout Perspective:
Yao had a successful career in the NBA with the Houston Rockets and was elected to the Hall of Fame this past year. Since retiring, Yao has become involved in various businesses. Yao Capital was established in January 2016. The investment in sports continues as we know the UFC was purchased by a group led by WME-IMG for $4 billion. Formula One Racing was recently purchased by Liberty Media valued at $4.4 billion. Yao’s deal likely represents an opportunity to diversify its holdings as well as the possibility of expanding into China. For Glory, the investment should help with its infrastructure as it likely looks to expand.
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