Steve Cohen-Led Group Buys Sports Card And Memorabilia Company Collector’s Universe
Tyler Durden
Fri, 12/04/2020 – 18:00
Apparently, Steve Cohen is on a sports kick.
As if buying the New York Mets – and then purging the organization’s entire front office, as we noted weeks ago – wasn’t enough, Steve Cohen is now buying collectibles-grading company Collectors Universe.
The company provides “authentication and grading services to buyers and sellers of memorabilia, including sports cards, coins and vintage autographs.”
The $700 million deal to take the company private is being done in conjunction with Dan Sundheim’s D1 Capital Partners and sports card collector Nat Turner, according to Bloomberg.
Cohen is undertaking the transaction using “Cohen Private Ventures”, which is a vehicle for investing his personal capital (as opposed to that of Point72).
Shares of the company had been up more than 300% this year already, with the nation’s lockdown orders allowing hobbyists and collectors to spend more time on their respective collections.
Turner said on Monday: “Collecting sports cards and connecting with like-minded hobbyists has been a lifelong passion. [We] are committed to bringing the resources and expertise necessary to expand the company’s operational capacity and technological capabilities.”
The deal is a cash offer and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.