Peyton Manning on Sunday, February 16, 2025.
Theo Wargo | NBCUniversal | Getty Images
Peyton Manning has a new business partner.
A new platform run by Patrick Whitesell, the former executive chairman of Endeavor, has acquired a minority stake in Manning’s Omaha Productions.
The stake, which is approximately 10% of the company, values Omaha Productions at more than $750 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
Private equity firm Silver Lake announced Whitesell’s new platform, which will invest in sports, media and entertainment companies, earlier this week. Silver Lake is contributing an initial $250 million to the fund. The Omaha Productions deal is the first investment.
A spokesperson for Whitesell and spokespeople for Omaha and Silver Lake declined to comment on financial terms.
“Omaha’s strong track record of creating engaging content puts them in a strong position to capitalize on new opportunities across entertainment and sports,” said Whitesell in a statement.
Patrick Whitesell Executive chairman of Endeavor.
Courtesy: Endeavor
Omaha Productions has produced more than 30 TV series and live events for a variety of media partners, including Disney, Netflix and Comcast‘s NBCUniversal. The company is the executive producer of Netflix’s “Quarterback” and “Receiver” documentary series and developed “Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli,” colloquially known as the ManningCast, where the Manning brothers comment on the game and interview celebrities.
Silver Lake is a longtime investor in Endeavor. This week, it closed its transaction to take the company private. When accounting for Endeavor’s existing stake in TKO Sports, Silver Lake marked the deal at an enterprise value of $25 billion.
Manning and media executive Jamie Horowitz founded Omaha in 2020. As it takes on Silver Lake as an investor, the company aims to grow into new business ventures that can utilize Manning in other ways beyond media, the company said in a statement. Omaha recently announced an investment in Good Good Golf, a golf and lifestyle company.
Omaha has been profitable since its founding, the company said, suggesting the investment is more about increasing Omaha’s value and expanding its opportunities than needing cash.
Both Silver Lake and Whitesell were instrumental in moving Endeavor beyond a talent agency into an expansive sports and entertainment empire. The company, run by Ari Emanuel, eventually acquired both UFC and WWE, merging them into a new publicly traded entity called TKO Group.
Disclosure: Comcast’s NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.