Lerner Family Takes Washington Nationals off Market
After two years on the market, the Washington Nationals are no longer up for sale. Principal Owner Mark Lerner told reporters from the team’s spring training facility in West Palm Beach that his family decided to hold onto its majority stake in the franchise. The news just weeks after the neighboring Baltimore Orioles reached an agreement for an MLB record-setting $1.7 billion, which is still subject to approval from 75% of voting owners.
Capital One Plans $35.3B Purchase of Discover Financial Services
Monday may have been a holiday, but Capital One stayed busy. The financial giant announced that it was finalizing a deal to purchase Discover Financial Services for $35.3 billion. According to the Wall Street Journal, the deal will be an all-stock transaction. Capital One will purchase each share at a 26% premium. Sources reveal that Capital One plans to maintain the Discover brand. The merger will increase Capital One’s market value to north of $52 billion.
Kevin Durant: 35 on 35
For the first time in 10 months, Kevin Durant sits down for a wide-ranging conversation with Rich Kleiman for Boardroom’s most recent Cover Story. The two discuss everything from Kevin’s rise in OKC, his desire to bring the NBA back to Seattle, what went through his mind when he tore his Achilles, and why he believes he deserves to participate in the GOAT conversation.
For access to the full interview, download the Bleacher Report app and stay locked in with Boardroom.
Curry Brand Donates $30K to Sabrina Ionescu's Foundation Following 3 Point Competition
Shooters shoot. And that’s exactly what fans got on Saturday as Stephen Curry squared off against WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu for a special 3-point matchup. While Curry walked away the victor, claiming a signature WWE-style belt for his win, he had all the praise for Ionescu and her all-star performance. Following the match-up Curry Brand and Under Armour Basketball announced it will donate $30,000 to the Liberty star’s SI20 Foundation, which shares a mission with Curry’s own Eat.Learn.Play Foundation.
Switch 2 Delays Lead to Drop in Nintendo Stock
Gamers everywhere are eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Switch 2. Alas, a recent report from Bloomberg suggests that they’ll have to wait until 2025. Nintendo reportedly has been telling gaming publishers that the highly-anticipated personal console will not hit the market until March of next year — and miss the holiday sales season. In response to the news, the company’s stock dipped 6% on Monday. The first iteration of the Switch dropped worldwide in March 2017 and has sold nearly 140 million units.
'One Love' Tallies Huge $52M Opening
The Hollywood box office is one industry that greatly benefitted from the long weekend. The extended holiday brought fans out in drones, but it was the Bob Marley biopic One Love that came out on top. Plus, The movie opened on Wednesday, in order to capitalize on the Valentine’s Day crowds — a shrewd move, which proved to be successful. The film raked in $52 million over six days. Its closest competitor took in only one-half of the ticket stubs, as Madame Web notched $26 million over the same time period.