Steve Cohen, the owner of the New York Mets, has recently acquired a 5.5% stake in the Las Vegas Sphere. This spherical concert venue was built for $2.3 billion by majority owner James Dolan and opened last September. Cohen purchased 1.56 million shares of Sphere Entertainment, but the exact purchase price was not disclosed.
This investment by Cohen, made through his Point72 Asset Management hedge fund, follows a previous investment by the same group last year. While the exact amount of the recent purchase remains undisclosed, the 1.56 million shares of Sphere Entertainment are currently valued at approximately $52 billion.
The timing of Cohen’s investment comes as the Sphere is reportedly in negotiations for residencies with top music artists such as Beyonce, Harry Styles, Lady Gaga, and the Eagles. The Eagles are set to perform a 12-date residency this fall, following previous residencies by Dead & Company and U2.
Despite the challenges faced by the Sphere in securing top musical acts due to high costs, the venue has seen success in revenue generation through movie screenings. The film “Postcards from Earth” directed by Darren Aronofsky, for example, grossed over $1 million in average daily ticket sales, resulting in $100.5 million in revenue for 257 performances in the most recent quarter.
In addition to its success with movie screenings, the Sphere is also expanding its content offerings with two new films reportedly in production. One will be a documentary about U2, while the other will be a new adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz.”
While the Dolan family still retains a controlling stake in Sphere Entertainment, Steve Cohen’s history of acquiring larger stakes in entities he invests in raises speculation about his future intentions with the company. Cohen initially bought into the Mets with an 8% stake in 2012 for $40 million, eventually increasing his ownership to 97% in 2020 with a $2.4 billion transaction, one of the largest in professional sports history.
