KKR
In October 2022, financial services giant KKR led a $400 million investment in Skydance Media that was intended, at least in part, to push the production company further into sports. It didn’t take long: One month later, Skydance announced an exclusive joint venture to produce new programming in partnership with the NFL and NFL Films.
KKR’s investment was led by Ted Oberwager. A Philadelphia native who briefly played baseball at Georgetown, Oberwager joined KKR in 2008 and, aside from a break to acquire an MBA from Harvard Business School, has been there ever since. He’s responsible for ensuring KKR’s private equity arm is involved with some of the industry’s biggest deals, beginning with a 2014 investment in FanDuel.
Ted Oberwager
Partner, KKR & Co.
Age: 40 (turned 40 this spring)
Born: Philadelphia
Education: Georgetown University, B.A., classical languages; Harvard University, MBA
Family: Spouse, Sylvia; child, Olana (2)
Advice to my 20-year-old self: You are never as bad as you feel when times are tough, and you are never as good as you feel when things are going well.
What my friends/family think I do all day: Probably talk on the phone with varying degrees of vocal volume.
How I deal with stress in the workplace: Cook for my incredible wife and daughter (and dog to a lesser extent).
Cause supported: Performance Space NY (board member). Supporting the performing arts in New York City.
App I use most: NFHS Network.
First social media platform I signed up for: Facebook.
Social media platform I use/follow most today: X.
Person in sports business I’d most like
to meet: Michael Jordan. The first athlete as a businessman in his own right.
“If we do our job right, we can get there a step before the next firm, whether that’s in sports betting, emerging amateur sports, or working with Skydance and the content that surrounds what happens on the field,” Oberwager said.
Perhaps most notably, Oberwager oversaw KKR’s 2016 investment in UFC alongside Endeavor and Silver Lake; the $4 billion deal was then a record valuation for a sports transaction. Oberwager said he’s currently keeping a close eye on league-level media rights deals and the explosive growth in women’s sports, but he’s casting a broad net for KKR’s future sports investments.
“We have the luxury of being selective and really working with the best companies, whatever they do,” Oberwager said. “And there are great businesses getting built all over the place, whether it’s streaming, sports data, the fantasy side, stadiums and real estate, and the services that support those. We look across everything, and then really just put a premium on working with the best people we can.” — Chris Smith
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