ESPN sold its majority stake of the iconic X and Winter X Games to MSP Sports Capital on Wednesday.
The private equity firm – which also has stakes in McLaren Racing and a handful of European soccer teams – is run by Phoenix Suns minority owner Jahm Najafi. Najafi rose to prominence last month when he publicly called for Robert Sarver’s removal as majority owner of the NBA franchise.
Terms of the sale were not released, but ESPN is expected to continue to televise the events and will remain on as a minority partner.
The extreme sports series burst on the scene in 1995 with the first-ever X Games. The Winter X Games debuted two years later and the events have only continued to take off over the past three decades.
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They’ve given rise to stars like Tony Hawk and Shaun White and proved that extreme sports, such as skateboarding, snowboarding and BMX belong on an international stage such as the Olympics.
According to the Associated Press, the sale is intended to hand over the logistics and business operations to MSP Sports Capital to allow ESPN to dedicate more time to their coverage.
The next competition is the Winter Games, set for the end of January in Aspen.
