Bruin Capital, the sports and entertainment investment firm, has acquired a minority stake in UK-based sports media and promotional business Matchroom Holdings to support its expansion in the United States.
As part of the agreement, the Hearn family will retain majority ownership and continue to oversee the Matchroom business, with Eddie Hearn serving as group chairman and Barry Hearn as founder and president. Bruin will join Matchroom’s board of directors.
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Financial terms were not disclosed, but Bruin is understood to have acquired a 15% stake at a valuation of more than £1 billion ($1.4 billion).
Barry Hearn said: “We have built this business over more than 40 years by staying independent and focused on execution. In Bruin, we found a partner that understands how to grow sports businesses at scale and can help us take the next step without changing how we operate.”
Matchroom, which operates across several sports, including darts, boxing, and snooker, will use the investment to further its growth in the United States, where the company has begun expanding its presence.
The company’s portfolio includes the Professional Darts Corporation, Matchroom Boxing, the World Snooker Tour, Matchroom Multi-Sport, and Matchroom Media.
Matchroom also represents several high-profile names in boxing and darts, including Anthony Joshua, Katie Taylor, and Luke Littler.
It was first reported in 2022 that the Hearn family was seeking investment and had held talks with private equity firms about the potential sale of a minority stake in the company.
At the time, the Hearns were understood to be in contact with at least three private equity groups, with KKR, CVC Capital Partners, and Searchlight Capital all reported to have been interested in a potential deal, but nothing materialized.
In 2024, Pitch International, the UK-based sports marketing agency, acquired a minority stake in Matchroom.
Through a global partnership, the two parties collaborate on international media rights, global events, and major sports sponsorships across the Matchroom Group portfolio.
Led by founder and CEO George Pyne, Bruin has now joined the Matchroom ownership group to expand its sports investment portfolio.
Bruin said its latest alliance with Matchroom is part of a strategy to back “category-defining platforms positioned to expand globally and capitalize on the increasing demand for premium live sports content and experiences.”
Together, the companies intend to expand Matchroom’s capabilities across digital distribution, data, and direct-to-consumer engagement.
Pyne said: “Barry, Eddie, and the Matchroom team have built one of the most important independent sports businesses in the world. Matchroom sits at the intersection of live events, global media rights, and premium sports intellectual property, and we see significant opportunities ahead, particularly in the United States.”
Founded in 1982, Matchroom has gone from strength to strength over the years and now has a major presence in the likes of boxing, darts, and snooker, as well as a host of smaller interests elsewhere.
Among its most significant moves in recent years have been the agreement of a $1-billion boxing tie-up in the US with the international sports streaming platform DAZN (which was extended last year and has subsequently been built upon in Canada, Italy, Spain, and the UK) and the securing of British heavyweight boxing star Anthony Joshua for the remainder of his career.
The company claims to promote more than 600 event days and over 2400 hours of original programming per year.
Earlier this year, Bruin raised $1 billion in new funding to power investments in sports technology, headlined by prominent sports investor Josh Harris.
Led by Harris’ 26North investment firm and the TJC private equity firm, this was Bruin Capital’s biggest-ever funding round.
This also marked the fourth such funding round from Bruin since its establishment in 2015, and previous rounds have led to significant investment in the sports landscape.
Most prominent among these is the sports technology firm TGI Sport, of which it is a part-owner, and the As1 (As One) soccer representation agency that it founded in late 2024.
In the past, Bruin has invested in and then sold major sports businesses such as the On Location hospitality firm, which it sold to Endeavor in 2020, and the Two Circles commercial agency, sold in 2025.
