Friday's Fast Five: Week of 3.21

Boston Celtics being sold for a record $7.3 billion (Axios): The Boston Celtics have agreed to be sold to private equity investor Bill Chisholm for an initial $6.1 billion, with the the final valuation to reach $7.3 billion. This is the most ever paid for a professional sports team, topping the $6 billion that Josh Harris paid in 2023 for the NFL's Washington Commanders.

If Equity Markets Didn’t Fall as Much Their Returns Would be Lower (Behavioural Investment): At times such as these it is important not to lose sight of the fact that the returns from owning equities over the long run are as high as they are because they are volatile and suffer from intermittent drawdowns. We cannot have one without the other.

Why Google's acquisition of security company Wiz is such a big deal.  (Tomasz Tunguz): For Google, this would be its largest acquisition ever second to Motorola for about $12b. Notably two of the top three acquisitions are security. Mandiant sold for $5.4b. Without a doubt it shows major acquirors aren’t dissuaded by the public markets or the potential regulatory hurdles imposed by regulators. And startups are open to receiving premium offers, both of which are key ingredients to a vibrant M&A market.

MLB Plots a New TV Model After Striking Out With ESPN (Wall Street Journal): The big sports network is walking away from the national pastime, accelerating baseball’s need to cope with the demise of the TV economy that fueled its growth for decades.

PepsiCo Buying Poppi Was Inevitable (Eater): This week, massive food and beverage conglomerate PepsiCo announced that it would drop nearly $2 billion to acquire Poppi, the low-calorie, probiotic-infused soda brand that you’ve likely seen on your social media feeds. According to Reuters, the move comes at a time when Pepsi is facing declining demand as customers look to consume less sugar and seek out healthier drinks. And considering the way the beverage industry works, this acquisition was all but inevitable.