New PE Firm BlackSun Raises $1 Billion For Sports, Media Fund

Recently launched BlackSun Private Equity, with principals from the world of politics, sports and entertainment, is launching its first fund with $1 billion raised so far and another $1 billion committed.

The goal is to invest in professional sports and franchise ownerships, which many PE firms are eyeing, but with a focus on community and stakeholder participation. One of its early moves is forming a group to bid for the Seattle SuperSonics, which are targeting a return to the NBA. Partners include Native World Sports, a platform to advance tribal nation participation across professional sports, entertainment.

Ambitious projects include creating the new World American Football League, where players would own equity in teams, as well as Knockout Fights, a boxing and martial arts platform. Signed fighters will be eligible for a guaranteed salary, lifetime healthcare coverage, and a retirement pension, supported by a direct share of broadcast and streaming revenue.

BlackSun was founded by Atonn Muhammad, who played college football for the Miami Hurricanes and launched cable’s Real Hip-Hop Network in 2008 (landing him a Billboard cover), and longtime investment banker Nery Gomez.

Strategy and comms chief Nick Rathod, a seasoned political operative, served as Deputy Director in the Obama White House and a Special Assistant to the President. He ran Beto O’Rourke’s Texas gubernatorial campaign and worked alongside Sen. Elizabeth Warren to set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Managing Director John Godina is a four-time world champion and two-time Olympic medalist in the shot put category and founder of ALTIS, an elite track and field athlete training center in Phoenix.

Jason Kidd, Roy Jones Jr., Lawrence Taylor and Gary Clark are athletes attached as investors and advisors.

The platform’s capital initiatives include a $100 million Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), a $500 million Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) program, and a $750 million acquisition bridge facility.

Dubai-based Greenstone Equity Partners is exclusive global placement agent for BlackSun’s new Mega Fund I, which has a targret of $7 billion. Changa Ingram, chief investment officer, was previously Senior Manager of Enterprise Risk and Regulatory Compliance at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, where he worked for 18 years. That should give it a line to Middle East sovereign wealth funds, which, the firm notes, “have demonstrated sustained appetite for alternative investment platforms at the intersection of sports, media, and culture.”

BlackSun’s community equity program, managed through fundraising platform DealMaker Securities, will extend participation to a broader base of investors, including fan and community stakeholders. Mohammad said the first campaign, to support World American Football League, will launch in October.

The fund will also be looking at investments in media and entertainment, IP, fintech and commercial real estate.