MARI Completes Acquisitions of the Madrid and Miami Open Tennis Tournaments and International Art Organization Frieze, and Barrett-Jackson, the Premium Collector Car Auction Company
New global events and experiences company launches to build a world-class portfolio across sports, entertainment, art, and lifestyle
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Oct. 8, 2025 – MARI, a new global events and experiences company founded by Ariel Emanuel, launched today following its acquisitions of IMG’s portfolio of international tennis events and Frieze—the globally influential contemporary art organization—and a majority ownership interest in Barrett-Jackson, the premium collector car auction and automotive lifestyle brand, alongside Barrett-Jackson founder and CEO Craig Jackson, who will remain in his role.
The tennis portfolio includes two premier ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tournaments—the Miami Open presented by Itaú and Mutua Madrid Open—alongside leading WTA events such as the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, Mubadala Citi DC Open, and SP Open. It also features high-profile exhibitions such as Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic and MGM Macau Tennis Masters, as well as the management of major ATP tournaments including the Chengdu Open, Hong Kong Open, Japan Open, and Rio Open.
Emanuel, together with Mark Shapiro who is a Principal Investor and will serve as a Board Member, will guide MARI’s strategy and growth as the company builds a portfolio of iconic events and brands. Together, they bring decades of experience shaping world-class businesses across sports, entertainment, and culture.
MARI’s executive team includes Matt Cohn as Managing Partner and Ben Enowitz as Chief Financial Officer. This group will oversee MARI’s portfolio of live events and drive growth across sports, art, lifestyle, and entertainment. All events will continue under their existing leadership, now within MARI, ensuring continuity and momentum.
MARI is backed by a global group of leading investors, including funds managed by Apollo, RedBird Capital Partners, Qatar Investment Authority, HSG, IMI media group, Ares Management funds, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a16z Growth, Nancy Zhang, FORTA Advisors, Main Street Advisors, Causeway Media Partners, Gannet Capital, Eric Schmidt, FMZ Ventures, Sideline Group, Curated Wealth Partners, Gaurav Kapadia, Bulat Utemuratov, and Sanjay Govil, as well as superstars from the sports world including Luka Dončić, Anthony Edwards and Sabrina Ionescu.
As part of the Miami Open acquisition, MARI is bringing on the ownership group behind the Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium, and the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix, as principal investors. The group includes majority owner Stephen Ross, along with Joe Tsai, Oliver Weisberg, and funds managed by Ares Management. Since 2019, the Miami Open has been hosted at Hard Rock Stadium, a world-class sports and entertainment venue.
“Live events and experiences have never been more powerful,” said Ariel Emanuel, Founder and Principal Investor of MARI. “As people increasingly value experiences over things—and as hybrid work and AI give us more time to enjoy them—sports, art, lifestyle, and entertainment are becoming even more essential. At MARI, we’re building on the global impact of Frieze and the success of the Madrid and Miami Opens to create new ways for audiences to come together and share their passions.”
“We are excited to be a key partner to Ariel Emanuel, Mark Shapiro, and their team as they build out a portfolio of experiential assets in the sports and live events industries—two key areas where our firm sees strong, continued growth. Apollo Sports Capital will work closely with the MARI team to help unlock value across the existing asset base, as well as explore additional opportunities in live events and experiences,” added Apollo Partner Rob Givone.
“RedBird has enjoyed a multi-decade partnership with Ari and Mark, and we are excited to join them again in creating MARI,” said Gerry Cardinale, Founder and Managing Partner of RedBird Capital. “Anchored by the iconic Miami and Madrid Tennis Opens and Frieze, MARI is well positioned from inception to capitalize on the secular growth and convergence of premium intellectual property across Sports and Live Event Entertainment—areas where RedBird brings domain leadership and business building expertise.”
Frieze, Barrett-Jackson, and the tennis properties will serve as flagship assets of MARI’s global events and experiences portfolio. These acquisitions reflect MARI’s long-term vision to build a dynamic collection of category-defining events that bring people together through culture, content, and community.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP acted as legal adviser and Goldman Sachs & Co. and LionTree Advisors LLC acted as financial advisors to MARI in connection with the transaction.
SOURCE: https://marigrp.com/news
