Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy has announced he’s bought back the sports media company he created from PENN Entertainment.

The Swampscott, Massachusetts native said in a video that PENN had decided to end its relationship with Barstool and divested the complete ownership of the company back to him.

Portnoy is back as the sole owner of the company for the first time in nearly a decade – after The Chernin Group bought a minority, then a majority stake in the company.

After PENN acquired the rest of Barstool in February of this year, Portnoy retained creative control over the content of the site.

According to him, PENN decided to go in a separate direction after agreeing to a deal with ESPN – who has had a frosty relationship with Barstool in the past. 

‘PENN Entertainment and Barstool Sports have gone their separate ways. As of this moment – as you are watching this video – I have purchased back Barstool Sports from PENN,’ Portnoy began.

PENN had purchased a stake in Barstool for 36 percent of the company in January of 2020 – increasing their stake to about 50 percent by 2023. 

Reports at the time of the initial PENN deal indicated that The Chernin Group would retain their 36 percent stake in the company. It’s unclear whether or not Chernin eventually sold their stake to PENN, or if they sold it to Portnoy in this deal.

As for how the deal came about, Portnoy said, ‘We did this deal about three years ago, and I think both parties were like “we’re gonna take this thing to the moon”.’

‘We underestimated just how tough it is for myself and Barstool to operate in a regulated world where gambling regulators, the New York Times, Business Insider hit pieces f–king with the stock price. Every time we did something it was one step forward two steps back.

‘We got denied licenses because of me. You name it. So the regulated industry probably not the best place for Barstool Sports and the type of content we make.’

‘PENN was able to broker an unbelievable deal with ESPN. We wish them nothing but the best in their endeavors. It’s truly a win-win.’

Portnoy continued, assuring his army of fans that now Barstool was a private company, that their content would return to the raunchy, irreverent work they became infamous for.

‘More importantly, for us, for Barstool, for the first time in forever, we don’t have to watch what we say, how we talk, what we do. It’s back to the pirate ship. 

‘By the way, I will never sell Barstool Sports [again], ever. I’ll hold it till I die.’ 

As Portnoy said, PENN announced via a press release that they were entering into a new deal with ESPN – which will see Barstool Sportsbook rebranded as ESPN Bet.

The release says the sale of all of Barstool’s stock to Portnoy was ‘in exchange for certain non-compete and other restrictive covenants.’ PENN also gets the right to half of the gross proceeds Portnoy gets in any subsequent sale or monetization of Barstool.

‘Barstool has been a great partner and we are thankful to Dave Portnoy, [Barstool CEO] Erika Ayers, Dan Katz, and their team for helping to rapidly scale our digital footprint across 16 jurisdictions in the US and introducing their audience to our retail and digital products,’ said PENN CEO Jay Snowden.

‘The divestiture allows Barstool to return to its roots of providing unique and authentic content to its loyal audience without the restrictions associated with a publicly traded, licensed gaming company.’

With Barstool’s public ownership came scrutiny from investors and the media. 

In May, former host Ben Mintz was fired by PENN after reading rap lyrics which included the N-Word. despite his apology and Portnoy’s pleas to keep him.

PENN’s stock price fell as a result of his axing.

In that same PENN press release, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro celebrated the move – with ESPN agreeing to a deal which sees PENN pay them $1.5billion over a ten-year deal.

‘After meeting with Jay and the PENN team, it was clear that they were the right long-term strategic partner to build ESPN Bet into a leading US sports betting platform,’ Pitaro said.

‘We are confident that the combination of our unparalleled audience along with PENN’s operational expertise and state-of-the-art technology provides us with a tremendous opportunity to serve the ever-growing number of consumers interested in betting.

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Art collector buys £8,000 painting – and X-ray shows a £50,000 picture underneath

By Mail online Reporter
Updated: 13:10 EDT, 21 June 2010

A collector who bought a portrait by a celebrated British artist has uncovered a £50,000 masterpiece – after an X-ray revealed another picture hidden underneath.

The art lover bought the original piece – a self-portrait by Robert Lenkiewicz depicting the artist in a nude pose with a female model – at auction for £8,500.

But after advice from an expert the unnamed owner took the oil painting to Torbay Hospital in Torquay, Devon to have it X-rayed. He was stunned to see that underneath the naked couple was the portrait of a tramp – worth an estimated £50,000.

The owner of the double portrait, who bought it in a collective auction of Lenkiewicz’s work in 2003, believes the artist must have painted over it for some reason.

He said: ‘When the experts looked at it they reckoned it contained another picture underneath.

‘So I took it to Torbay Hospital and discovered the tramp, which could be worth more than what is painted over it.

‘The picture I bought at auction could soon be valued at more than £50,000. It is a private work and perhaps should never have gone under the hammer at the estate’s sale in 2003.’ 

Lenkiewicz, of Plymouth, Devon, died of a heart attack aged 60 in 2002 and left behind no cash but a collection of art worth an estimated £2million.

He was famous for his works with the homeless and after he died the embalmed body of a 72-year-old tramp was found stuffed in a drawer in his studio.

The tramp – Edwin McKenzie, known as Diogenes – was a close friend of the artist and his whereabouts since his death in the 1980s had been a mystery. It was believed the dying wish of Mr McKenzie, who had no known family, was that his friend should embalm his body as a ‘work of art’.

The pair first met when the tramp was living in a concrete barrel at a rubbish tip near his studio and the artist embalmed him in 1984.

Officials at Plymouth City Council later tried to seize the corpse but couldn’t find the it until it was discovered hidden following Lenkiewicz’s death.

It is technically possible to remove the top painting to reveal the tramp materpiece underneath, but the price tag would not be justified on a £50,000 painting.

Art dealer Adrian Phippen, a Lenkiewicz expert, said the double portrait was ‘a very important piece of work’ by the artist.

‘Works like this one will become more valuable and highly prized by collectors than the self portraits with women that he painted.

‘To remove the top painting would be expensive but whoever buys it will have a unique piece by a leading British artist.’

A spokesman for South Devon Healthcare Trust added: ‘On rare occasions the hospital’s radiology team will be asked to X-ray an object.

‘We will always try to aid people. In this particular case the trust was happy to help and staff gave up their own time outside clinical hours to carry out the unusual request. They will be pleased to know that they have been part of such a remarkable finding.

‘We would like to offer our congratulations to the owner of the painting, who must be delighted with the discovery. Where the trust had been able to assist, a donation to the trust fund is usually made.’ 

The owner of the portrait, who lives in London and Ashburton in Devon, now plans to sell it at the Driftwood Gallery in Padstow, Cornwall.

He said: ‘I think the image there now is very good and rare. And it would be expensive to restore it to get to the tramp.’ 

The popularity of Lenkiewicz’s work has increased since his death and the current world record for one of his pictures stands at £57,600 for a self-portrait in 2005.

His work was virtually ignored by the art establishment during his lifetime, but now experts are comparing his colourful bohemian style with Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud.

Many of his paintings depict characters from around his home including skinheads, punks, criminals, fishermen, and the many women in his life.

Lenkiewicz learnt to paint with brushes made from his own hair and was married and divorced three times, leaving 11 children by various women.