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Speaker 1: This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports show, where we

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Speaker 1: explore the big money issues in the world of sports.

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Speaker 1: Michael Lauren, I'm Scarlett Foo, and I'm Damien sass Hour.

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Speaker 1: Coming up on the show, We're going to dive into

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Speaker 1: the latest developments in Phoenix Suns owner Robert Servers attempt

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Speaker 1: to sell the team. But first we've got to make

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Speaker 1: mention of a big story that cropped up over the

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Speaker 1: last few days. That is right, Michael, ESPN and DraftKings

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Speaker 1: are working on a potential sport betting partnership. Not a

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Speaker 1: lot of the details thus far, but look, it certainly

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Speaker 1: makes a lot of sense for both parties. ESPN gets

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Speaker 1: a piece of the sport betting pie, DraftKings gets a

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Speaker 1: platform to expand internationally. Bloomberg's Crystal Z spoke on Bloomberg

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Speaker 1: Television with Emily Chang about what a potential deal might

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Speaker 1: look like and what it could mean for both ESPN

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Speaker 1: and DraftKings. So so far, all we know is that

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Speaker 1: there is an intention for a large partnership between Draft

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Speaker 1: Kings and ESPN, which is owned by Disney. But how

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Speaker 1: exactly is this deal going to be structured? How is

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Speaker 1: it going to be paid we so we don't have

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Speaker 1: much detel on it, but it would be a really

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Speaker 1: really fixed step for ESPN to really take advantage of that,

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Speaker 1: legalizing sports betting in almost half of the country now,

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Speaker 1: and it will be a real cultural shock for ESPN

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Speaker 1: because Disney has this really wholesome um image that they

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Speaker 1: have and getting into sports betting it's actually a really

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Speaker 1: really big step. Now there's been speculation about an acquisition.

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Speaker 1: Is this a step in that direction or no? So

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Speaker 1: because of that cultural difference, UM, it will right now,

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Speaker 1: we're not hearing about outright acquisition. So in order to

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Speaker 1: do that, So Drafting here is the license holder for

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Speaker 1: sports betting, So if ESPN really want to get into

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Speaker 1: it in a really really big way, it would make

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Speaker 1: sense for them to buy. And also note that draft

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Speaker 1: Kings stock price of trading around sixteen dollars, but it's high.

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Speaker 1: In March last year was around seventy two, so you

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Speaker 1: could say that it's a really really cheap buy. But

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Speaker 1: for Disney shareholder to get over that wholesomeness reputation of Disney,

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Speaker 1: it will still be a big lead. And we're not

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Speaker 1: sure if that's um, if they're ready to make that step. Yes,

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Speaker 1: So actually a lot of analysts have dismissed the m

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Speaker 1: and A speculation, but we shall see what about when

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Speaker 1: it comes to, you know, other sports scambling platforms. More broadly,

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Speaker 1: I feel like I've heard about draft We've heard some

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Speaker 1: Draft Kings m N a UM speculation for a couple

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Speaker 1: of years. So Draft king is in a really really

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Speaker 1: competitive states and they are constantly at war with UM

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Speaker 1: places like fan juel, and they're all offering these really

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Speaker 1: really cheap discount or even giving UM users free money

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Speaker 1: just to get on their platform. So there is a

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Speaker 1: lot of room for consolidation. And with this partnership with ESPN,

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Speaker 1: even how it looks like it will still be unclear.

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Speaker 1: It could really emerge looking like a new platform. It

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Speaker 1: could look like an ESPN platform, or it could look

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Speaker 1: like an extra boton on the existing ESPN app. So

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Speaker 1: it could probably look like it would look more crowded

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Speaker 1: UM than than less. But you're right, like there could

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Speaker 1: be more deals. Draft Kings hasn't been public of that long.

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Speaker 1: They only go on public through respect a year ish ago,

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Speaker 1: so whether they are ready to take on a big deal,

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Speaker 1: it's also UM waiting to be seen. And you know

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Speaker 1: obviously the stock price not doing too well for them

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Speaker 1: to sell. Equity will also be really challenging, so there

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Speaker 1: will be consolidation in the space. We just don't know

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Speaker 1: who are buying who is selling it. That was Bloomberg's

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Speaker 1: Crystals speaking with Emily Chang reporting on a potential deal

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Speaker 1: between ESPN and Draft Kings, and it's certainly a story

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Speaker 1: that we will be keeping an eye on. And now

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Speaker 1: we turn our attention to another huge deal, huge I

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Speaker 1: tells yeah, the sale of the Phoenix Suns. Owner Robert Sarver,

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Speaker 1: who also owns the w n b a's Phoenix Mercury,

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Speaker 1: is working with advisory firm now on a potential transaction. This,

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Speaker 1: of course, is all the result of the investigation into Server,

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Speaker 1: which turned up a history of racist and sexist behavior

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Speaker 1: sons GM James Jones spoke recently about how he feels

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Speaker 1: about Server's behavior and his decision to sell the team.

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Speaker 1: I think I'm in agreement with selling a team. I

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Speaker 1: think that's that outcome for everyone involved, the players, the fans,

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Speaker 1: the staffers, h everyone that was impacted on so many levels.

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Speaker 1: It brings some closure to a long period of discomfort

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Speaker 1: and uneasiness. Um, but also gives us a pivot point

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Speaker 1: to continue to focus on raising the standards of our

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Speaker 1: organization and leading by example. Sons GM James Jones speaking

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Speaker 1: at a press conference about Sarver. For more on where

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Speaker 1: we stand, let's bring in Bloomberg's cameroon, Leech cameroon as usual,

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Speaker 1: welcome to the Bloomberg Business of sports. Thanks for having me, well,

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Speaker 1: thank you man, and again as usual, always lay some

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Speaker 1: knowledge on us all the time. So let's talk about

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Speaker 1: this now, about the how this sale now is shaping up.

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Speaker 1: Who is in the lead now to maybe become a

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Speaker 1: majority owner with the Sons? Yeah, I mean just maybe

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Speaker 1: for the best inches of all you know, report us

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Speaker 1: who are kind of following this probably probably us. We

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Speaker 1: shouldn't say who's leading, but at least we do know

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Speaker 1: that things are definitely underway. Last week I reported that

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Speaker 1: Molus is actually running the sale for Robert Sarver. Actually

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Speaker 1: just ran into Larry Fisher, who joined the Phoenixales ownership

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Speaker 1: just in he has a minority state in the in

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Speaker 1: the basketball organization. And it seems to be that this

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Speaker 1: is moving a lot faster than we had inticipated when

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Speaker 1: we last spoke. Yeah, so Cameron explained to us here

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Speaker 1: how the ownership structure of the Sun's currently works because

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Speaker 1: Robert Sarver owns I believe, one third of the team,

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Speaker 1: but he's in a position where he can make all

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Speaker 1: the decisions to sell the team. Is that right, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: essentially that's how That's how it is. And we want

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Speaker 1: to get the essentially what what they want is the

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Speaker 1: best pitches, and you know they also matters as far

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Speaker 1: as just the NBA organizations will too and the other

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Speaker 1: owners do have somewhat of to say and who's you know,

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Speaker 1: gets into this boys or girls club. And so I

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Speaker 1: think just over the next few weeks to a few months,

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Speaker 1: we're going to need to shape up a lot more,

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Speaker 1: just giving just a pace of where the NBA is

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Speaker 1: trying to get to. You know, last time I noted

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Speaker 1: that there were you know, other major um NBA players

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Speaker 1: who are very interested in getting their hands on some

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Speaker 1: NBA ownership as well too. So I can't wait to

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Speaker 1: see how the shapes out to be Cameroon. The highest

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Speaker 1: price ever paid for an NBA franchise is the two

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Speaker 1: point three five billion shows I paid to purchase the Nets.

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Speaker 1: Back in Forbes reported the Suns was worth about one

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Speaker 1: point eight billion. Do we think we're going to fetch

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Speaker 1: something higher than the nets in nineteen or or or not. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: even even with that, I think we're going to get

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Speaker 1: something much higher than that. I think that doesn't uh

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Speaker 1: kind of. I don't think that complains, you know, all

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Speaker 1: of the cash that the Feenoux signs as an organization

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Speaker 1: kind of brings. Not think just given some of the

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Speaker 1: top two talents they have over that, you think about, um,

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Speaker 1: you know CP three over there, who just wants the

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Speaker 1: previous nd P A president as well too, especially Devin Booker.

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Speaker 1: They have a lot of upside as well too. Even

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Speaker 1: though there is there seems to be some distension within

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Speaker 1: the team, it's as far as like what the future

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Speaker 1: looks like. But I think this is not a franchise

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Speaker 1: that could be far off from a championship. UM. So

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Speaker 1: I think with that alone, we'll see a lot, you know,

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Speaker 1: way higher than one point one day and that divorce reported.

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Speaker 1: Has there been anything out of the NBA Commissioner Adam

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Speaker 1: Silver's office about the latest about the Phoenix Sun owner

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Speaker 1: ready to sell the team From what we've previously gotten

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Speaker 1: as far as the actual UM findings that their report

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Speaker 1: and you know, the initial suspicion that they gave Robert Harver.

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Speaker 1: We haven't had anything official come out of the Adam

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Speaker 1: Silver's office, but I think we're going to just kind

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Speaker 1: of keep them kind of pushing a lot of that

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Speaker 1: narrative under the rug. Hopefully they can get the sale

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Speaker 1: going to kind of you know, get away from the

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Speaker 1: headline risk um, but we haven't seen anything officiates as yet.

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Speaker 1: We should also mention that Robert Sarver is the owner

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Speaker 1: of the Phoenix Sun but also the Mercury Phoenix Mercury,

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Speaker 1: which is a w NBA franchise. Do we know anything,

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Speaker 1: Cameron about whether this will be a package deal where

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Speaker 1: the Sons and the Mercury will be sold together or

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Speaker 1: that might be separate. We know how much the Mercury

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Speaker 1: could fetch. I think you're still early in the game

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Speaker 1: to kind of figure out what the motive is here,

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Speaker 1: at least from Roberts Harbord, but I would imagine that

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Speaker 1: they might be sold together and just given um that

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Speaker 1: would help kind of increase the value for the Mercury

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Speaker 1: team as well too, which is actually a really good,

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Speaker 1: you know organization. They done really well of the of

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Speaker 1: the previous over the previous years. So I can imagine

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Speaker 1: that Lucie a joint deal happening. So Cameron, let's question

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Speaker 1: for me. I mean, you know there have been whispers

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Speaker 1: out there, um, Jeff Bezos, Bob Iger, Mary Allison, um,

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Speaker 1: Steve Jove's widow Laurent. I mean, any color there any

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Speaker 1: new names that I haven't mentioned. I mean, what's the talk.

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Speaker 1: There's been a lot of writing on the walls for

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Speaker 1: a lot of things, and just people, you know, throwing

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Speaker 1: names out digit to see what's six um. As we

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Speaker 1: had discussed last time on the program, a lot of

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Speaker 1: people seem to want, you know, by Bier throw his

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Speaker 1: name and he had his world too. Um. But we'll

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Speaker 1: continue to see how things shape up. Cameroon Leech our

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Speaker 1: own Bloomberg's Camber and Leech. Thank you so much, sir

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Speaker 1: for talking with us. As usual, you always leave your

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Speaker 1: knowledge on this man and we always learned. Thank you again, sir.

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Speaker 1: This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast. I'm Michael Barr,

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Speaker 1: along with Scarlet Fu and Damian sas Our catch us

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Speaker 1: here each and every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, exploring the

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Speaker 1: world of money. In Sports and catch me on Twitter

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Speaker 1: at Big Bar Sports. I'm on Twitter at Scarlett Foul

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Speaker 1: and I'm on Twitter at Deep Sass Hour. You're listening

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Speaker 1: to Bloomberg Business of Sports on Bloomberg Radio around the world.

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Speaker 1: And by the way, don't forget to download these podcasts

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