Billionaire hedge fund titan Steve Cohen‘s Point72 Asset Management has acquired a 5.5% stake in Sphere Entertainment Co, the MSG Entertainment spin-off company that owns the state-of-the-art Las Vegas Sphere venue.
Point72 disclosed in a regulatory filing on Monday (June 24) that it acquired 1.56 million shares of Sphere Entertainment Co in the second quarter, including 582,400 Class A Common Stock shares, which are issuable upon exercise of options. This is the second time Point72 has acquired a chunk of Sphere stock, having previously owned 262,102 shares at the end of 2023, which it sold in the first quarter, the New York Post reported.
In the wake of the news, Sphere stock jumped 7.2% to $34.84 on Tuesday.
The long-awaited Sphere has wowed music fans with residencies by U2, Phish and Grateful Dead and attracted nearly one million guests to some 270 performances in the quarter ending March 31. MSG Entertainment chairman/CEO James Dolan wants to replicate the $2.3 billion project in other cities. In January, the company withdrew its plans to build a Sphere arena in London failed after the city’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, blocked plans for the 21,500-capacity, 300-foot-tall building, citing the negative impact he believed it would have on the surrounding area, including high energy use and the “significant light intrusion” it would cause local residents.
While better known for its concerts, Sphere is set to host its first televised event this weekend with the National Hockey League draft. Point72’s investment aligns two New York sports teams owners: Cohen, who owns the New York Mets, and Dolan, owner of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers.
