Viessmann Generations Group GmbH & Co. KG is acquiring a 5% stake in Bayern München —which will increase to nearly 6.7% following a capital increase—at a €4B ($4.5B) valuation. The transaction makes the family investment firm the fourth outside shareholder alongside Adidas, Volkswagen, and Allianz, bringing total minority ownership to 30% while the club retains 70%. As part of the agreement, Max Viessmann will join the supervisory board, and Bloomberg’s Eyk Henning and Nick Heubeck note the investment provides a rare influx of capital into a German market where ownership rules and fan protests previously forced Blackstone and CVC to withdraw media rights bids in 2024. While the valuation is significant, it trails recent estimates from Sportico placing Real Madrid at $7.7B, Barcelona and Manchester United at $6.5B, and a Fenway Sports Group minority sale of Liverpool to an Amazon consortium led by Jeff Bezos at $6B. (link)

La Liga club Valencia has agreed to sell a 42% stake to Pitchwise Holdings in a transaction valuing the franchise at €1.25B ($1.4B) including debt. Pitchwise Holdings is led by sports executives Ann Rodriguez and Corey Woolfolk and backed by KKR co-founders George Roberts and Henry Kravis, along with the Penner Sports Group, and Reuters' Yantoultra Ngui notes Pitchwise will acquire the shares from majority owner Meriton Holdings and inject an additional €100M into the club. Meriton will retain majority control, and Kiat Lim will remain president as the new ownership group oversees the completion of the 70,000-seat Nou Mestalla stadium project. Lim explained why the current ownership group chose to partner with the consortium over several other interested parties: "[They offer] long-term investment expertise and sports acumen." (link)

Supporters of the fan-owned AFC Wimbledon will vote over the next four weeks on an £87M ($116M) investment proposal from Sloane Street Capital. The consortium, fronted by former Chelsea/Aston Villa/Sunderland player Ryan Bertrand and funded by General Atlantic senior advisor Omar Mir, would pay £16M for approximately 34% of the club’s shares this season before injecting another £71M over five years to acquire 90% of the franchise's economic value. Under the proposed agreement, the 6,265-member Dons Trust would maintain at least 50.01% of the voting rights and retain veto control over the club and the freehold for Cherry Red Records Stadium, which currently seats just over 9,000 with planning permission to expand to 20,000. Dons Trust Board Chair Angus Fox: “Members told us clearly this year that the club welcomes and needs outside investment, and that supporters must stay in control — this proposed deal does both. It is a new model that lets a fan-controlled club do more than just survive in modern football, we want to compete and thrive while making sure the soul of Wimbledon stays exactly where it belongs: with its supporters.” (link)

Real Madrid wants the six Premier League clubs that initially joined the European Super League to pay a portion of the project's abandoned setup costs, which total up to €80M, according to The Athletic's James Horncastle and Guillermo Rai. Although Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur withdrew shortly after the April 2021 launch, the clubs signed a shareholders’ agreement for the European Super League Company. Real Madrid, along with Barcelona and Juventus, has covered the promotional expenses to date and interprets the original contract as requiring shared financial obligations. Horncastle and Rai note the request comes as Real Madrid prepares to hire former A22 CEO Bernd Reichart to lead its business operations, adding: “Whenever the six English clubs have been asked if they think they are still bound by the ESL contracts they signed in April 2021, they have declined to comment but have strongly hinted that they think their obligations ended a long time ago.” (link)

The transition from flat-rate artificial intelligence subscriptions to usage-based pricing models is creating new financial pressures for higher education institutions, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education's Jeffrey Young. The rise of agentic AI tools that consume vast amounts of processing power—measured in tokens—has led to massive unexpected expenses, including one company inadvertently spending $500K on Claude Code in a single month and a coder's GitHub bill jumping from $50 to $3,000. Young posits that campus technology leaders must balance the push for AI experimentation against strict cost controls, though he notes that bulk token purchases could ultimately save money compared to underutilized flat-rate student subscriptions. Internet2 AVP Sean O'Brien adds that when the tokens run out, “are you cutting people off? Where is the money going to come from, if you outspend what you planned for tokens? ... I worry about a long-term divide” between universities who can afford AI and those who can’t. (link)

Eighty-four percent of private equity-backed CFOs still construct their primary budget models in Excel despite pressure from sponsors to automate, according to a survey by consulting firm Accordion and Wakefield Research. The study of 100 PE operating partners and 100 CFOs at companies with $50M or more in revenue revealed a sharp divide between sponsors and portfolio executives: 76% of CFOs resist handing budgeting and forecasting over to AI, while 74% of operating partners view budgeting as the single biggest opportunity for AI deployment. Although sponsors target higher valuations—65% believe AI-enabled budgeting expands exit multiples and 9% of completed deals already demonstrate an exit premium—traditional budgeting remains a grueling 11-week process, extending to 14 weeks for firms completing add-on acquisitions. That cycle requires significant manual effort, with CFOs spending 38% of their time reconciling departmental inputs, 27% reworking sponsor assumptions, and 22% formatting board decks across five or more full-scale model revisions. While 44% of prospective buyers now ask about AI capabilities during diligence, finance chiefs maintain strict control over core projections: 76% push back against autonomous AI budgeting, with board reporting (64%) and vendor/AP management (52%) ranking as the next most defended functions. (link)

Visa is partnering with BILL and Billtrust to pilot an artificial intelligence program that allows AI agents to initiate and complete recurring business invoice payments without human authentication, according to Bloomberg's Paige Smith. The system uses tokenized credentials to execute transactions on behalf of corporate customers, expanding on Visa's earlier partnership with OpenAI to automate consumer purchases. The technology mirrors internal workflow shifts at the company, where CEO Ryan McInerney recently attributed a 7% workforce reduction to AI acceleration. Visa Head of Product, Commercial and Money-Movement Solutions Mark Nelsen: "Businesses should not have to choose between automation and control when making payments. This pilot applies agentic commerce to a real B2B-payment problem." (link)

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at its upcoming Wednesday meeting, according to Dow Jones Newswires, though markets continue to price in future increases fueled by sustained economic strength. While LSEG data indicates U.S. money markets are pricing just a 10% chance of a rate hike this week, traders are pricing high odds of an increase in December and two full rate hikes by April. ING economist James Knightley notes broad consensus across the financial sector: "With heavy hitters, such as [Fed officials] Philip Jefferson, Michelle Bowman and Chris Waller suggesting that while they are likely to hike again, there is no pressing need to do it quite yet, markets and economists are united in expecting an ‘on hold’ decision." (link)

LIV Golf distributed more than $15.6M in retention bonuses to seven executives in the 11 weeks leading up to its September Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, according to court documents obtained by The Athletic's Mike Wilson. The payments included a $6.375M bonus to CEO Scott O’Neil, while filings show insiders received more than $12.8M in bonuses over the prior year, including more than $9.4M in a settlement and bonus to former CEO Greg Norman and $4.5M to O'Neil. As the circuit attempts to reorganize under new lead investor BC Partners, high-profile departures have mounted, with Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Tom McKibbin, Louis Oosthuizen, and Ian Poulter confirming they will not participate. (link)

The Wall Street Journal’s AnnaMaria Andriotis takes a look at how asset management firms including Apollo, Blackstone, Blue Owl, Carlyle, and KKR are pitching private-credit investments to retail investors through wealth-management festivals and high-profile sports sponsorships. The retail push arrives as traditional institutional clients reach their desired exposure limits, prompting products like Blackstone's $75B BCRED fund to court individual wealth. Andriotis points out that Blue Owl and EQT added corporate branding to tennis players' apparel and at tournament venues, while Apollo placed its logo on PGA Tour golfer Patrick Cantlay. Carlyle signed a multiyear sponsorship with Formula 1's Oracle Red Bull Racing, using the partnership to host prospective wealth managers for daylong VIP experiences that include meeting driver Max Verstappen and touring the team's paddock. Carlyle Head of Global Wealth Shane Clifford noted the exclusive access helps the firm win new business: “I believe the X factor was the venue, the curated group we brought together, and giving that person space and time.”(link)

The Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) issued new guidance urging investors on fund governance committees to actively challenge buyout managers proposing continuation vehicles rather than rubber-stamping conflicted deals, according to the Financial Times' Alexandra Heal. Private equity managers have increasingly turned to continuation vehicles—which accounted for roughly 20% of buyout exits last year—to acquire companies from their older funds amid a sluggish exit market, creating inherent conflicts of interest since managers and certain investors sit on both sides of transactions. ILPA highlighted that committee members themselves face competing incentives when rolling interests or participating through separate strategies managed by firms like Hamilton Lane, HarbourVest, and Partners Group: "Members may also sit on both sides of a continuation vehicle transaction and have a financial interest in the CV acquiring the asset(s) at a low price. ... A [committee] member may be rolling its interests into the CV but it may also be invested in a . . . fund that is investing in the CV [or] another part of its firm might be acting as lead investor." (link)

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(Posted from most recent over the last 30 days).

(NEW!) Athletics Operations Coordinator (California State University – Fullerton / Fullerton, CA): The Athletics Operations Coordinator provides administrative and operational support to the CFO and supports other administrative staff in the department. More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Director for Business Operations (Albany State University / Albany, GA): Help shape the future of Golden Rams Athletics by leading financial operations, strengthening fiscal accountability, and supporting the continued growth of our 12 NCAA Division II programs. (DII) More details HERE.

Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP) (University of Minnesota / Minneapolis, MN): Athletics HRBP supports recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, payroll, and compliance while partnering with coaches and staff to promote inclusion, engagement, and departmental success More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Director, Business Operations (La Salle University / Philadelphia, PA): This position supports the daily operations of the Athletic Business Office and will assist in budgeting, financial reporting, accounts payable, payroll, and purchasing. More details HERE.

Director of Athlete Compensation (Clemson University / Clemson, SC): Key member of the Athletics Central Front Office, providing strategic leadership & analytical support in the development, negotiation, and administration of student-athlete compensation strategies. More details HERE.

Data Analyst – Athletic Financial Reporting (Texas A&M University / College Station, TX): Provide data support for departmental projects and business processes and perform assigned administrative and financial business functions for Athletics business operations. More details HERE.

Financial Analyst I (2 Positions) (University of Arizona / Tucson, AZ): Help drive Arizona Athletics forward through financial insight, analysis, and strategy. Join our team as a Financial Analyst I and help turn data into informed decisions. More details HERE.

Associate Athletic Director, Revenue Marketing & Business Intelligence (University of Maryland / College Park, MD): Leads data-driven marketing and analytics to grow revenue, attendance, donor engagement, retention, and databases through targeted campaigns, pricing, audience insights, and sales partnerships. More details HERE.

Athletics Business Coordinator (Rice University / Houston, TX): The Business Coordinator will help in the generation of budget reports, purchasing, and deposits for the Athletic Department. More details HERE.

Athletics Business Associate (University of Illinois Springfield / Springfield, IL): Lead the business and HR operations for athletics, including providing insight into budgets, policies and staff hiring. Serves on senior staff. Has opportunity for athletics administration duties. (DII) More details HERE.

Coordinator - Business & Finance (University Athletic Association, Inc. at the University of Florida / Gainesville, FL): Manage key financial processes including accounts receivable and bank statement reconciliations. Support balance sheet reconciliation reviews. Ensure timely/accurate recording of incoming payments. More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Director, Business Operations, Department of Athletics (R0009158) (Wake Forest University / Winston-Salem, NC): The Assistant Athletic Director, Business Operations, is responsible for a broad range of accounting and business operations functions within the Department of Athletics’ Business Office. More details HERE.

Assistant Business Manager (University of Texas – Austin / Austin, TX): To provide support assigned Sport Programs and Departments within Intercollegiate Athletics, in the areas of budget management, travel, procure to pay, and related business functions. More details HERE.

Data Analyst I (University of Alabama / Tuscaloosa, AL): The Data Analyst I gathers, audits, analyzes, and reports low- to moderate-complexity data under general supervision. More details HERE.

Deputy Athletic Director (University of Washington / Seattle, WA): Washington Athletics has an outstanding opportunity for a Deputy Athletic Director to join their team. More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Seattle? Click HERE.

Assistant Director for Business Services (University of Connecticut / Storrs Mansfield, CT): The University of Connecticut is seeking applications for the full-time position of Assistant Director for Business Services More details HERE.

Assistant or Associate Athletic Director, Business Operations/SWA (Sacred Heart University / Fairfield, CT): Provides operational leadership for Athletics' business functions. Oversees financial management, budgeting, purchasing, contracts, revenue and expense tracking to ensure fiscal responsibility More details HERE.

Associate VP & Chief Commercial Officer/Chief Revenue Officer (Ohio State University / Columbus, OH): Responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive revenue growth strategy for the Department of Athletics and Buckeye Enterprises at The Ohio State University. More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Columbus? Click HERE.

Director, Business Office (Spartan Ventures / East Lansing, MI): This role, in conjunction with the Spartan Ventures CFO, will manage all financial activity related to the organization and contribute directly to the success of Michigan State University Athletics. More details HERE.

Manager, Financial Planning and Analytics (University of Texas – Austin / Austin, TX): This position will serve as a point-of-contact for financial planning and internal control functions within the Department of Athletics. More details HERE.

Director of Athletics Budget and Finance (Syracuse University / Syracuse, NY): The Director of Athletics Budget and Finance oversees the comprehensive stewardship, fiscal integrity, and business operations of the athletic department More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Director, Business Operations (FINANCIAL ANL SUPV 1) Job 88459. (University of California – Davis / Davis, CA): This position is responsible for overseeing all Business Office operations, including account management and oversight of an approximately $50M budget as well as all purchasing and travel activities. More details HERE.

Associate Athletic Director (California State University – Fullerton / Fullerton, CA): Assist the AD with overall organization and management of the Athletic Department, operational and strategic planning, sport supervision, policies and procedures, assist with budgetary decisions. More details HERE.