In yesterday’s surprise announcement that PENN Entertainment was selling Barstool Sports back to Dave Portnoy, a curious detail emerged that said the company retained the right to 50% of a potential sale should Portnoy choose to part with the digital outlet.
It has now been revealed that the clause was enacted due to the sale price of Barstool back to Portnoy. The original founder only paid $1 to regain complete control of the content factory.
After spending more than $550 million to complete its purchase of Barstool earlier this year, PENN essentially gave the company back to Portnoy to enact a deal to rebrand all of the company’s sports betting locations from Barstool Sportsbooks to ESPN Bet.
In a securities filing, the company disclosed that it sold “100% of the outstanding shares of Barstool to David Portnoy in exchange for a nominal cash consideration ($1.00 dollar) and certain non-compete and other restrictive covenants.”
With that development, PENN Entertainment lists losses of between $800-$850 million on the deal. Those loses come after the company revealed it would pay ESPN $1.5 billion over a new 10-year deal.
