Acquisition of major league sport teams: Red Bull’s motives behind the unprecedented move and why other corporations should be careful when doing the same

Date

2016

Authors

Bell, Carson

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Publisher

Bachelor of Commerce Best Business Research Papers

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the energy drink producer Red Bull and its motives behind major league sport team acquisition and management. In doing so, we discover that the business opportunity was largely successful for the energy drink producer, however, organizations must be cautious should they decide to follow suite. The energy drink corporation’s motives were found to be largely marketing and business diversification related. Arguments are also introduced positing that the corporation’s intentions also included those of an altruistic nature. Though the acquisition of teams was assed to be largely successful, it was determined that Red Bull did face prominent opposition from fans and consumers. Because of Red Bull’s existing history in extreme sport sponsorship, this opposition may have been less severe than if the company had not been associated with sport. With this in mind, companies seeking to acquire sport teams should conduct extensive research regarding how the public may react to the new ownership, and specifically which teams best reflect the company’s brand and values. Methods of the analysis include gathering research from various sport analysts, examining interviews with Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, and compiling empirical data on Red Bull’s various sport teams.

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Citation

Bell, C. (2016). Acquisition of major league sport teams: Red Bull’s motives behind the unprecedented move and why other corporations should be careful when doing the same. Bachelor of Commerce Best Business Research Papers, 9, 27–37.