Barry Hearn admits he's open to selling Matchroom with price named amid Saudi interest

Barry Hearn has hinted he's willing to sell his sports promotion company, Matchroom, which he founded in 1982. The 77-year-old has even gone as far as to name his price, with interest from Saudi Arabian buyers confirmed.

Hearn has been at the forefront of sports promotion for decades, ushering in a new era for snooker with the Matchroom Mob, featuring Dennis Taylor, Steve Davis and Jimmy White, and bringing momentous boxing bouts to a British audience by promoting the likes of Anthony Joshua.

Darts has also felt the full, lucrative force of Hearn and his son Eddie, now chairman of Matchroom Sports and the PDC. Such sporting greats are just a handful of those Matchroom has built its reputation on, but new revelations suggest the company's founder and president would consider cashing in.

Speaking on Netflix's 'Matchroom: The Greatest Showmen,' which gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at Hearn and his son's business, the 77-year-old disclosed: "It [Matchroom] is worth now north of £1billion.

"I'm not going to gamble away my fortune. But if the right deal comes along, selling Matchroom is not out of the question," he continued.

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In a later episode, Hearn can be heard speaking with his son Eddie and discussing a conversation with Turki Al-Sheikh, a promoter and the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority president.

A potential bid from Saudi Arabia is discussed, and Hearn's response is captured. Eddie tells him: "I just spoke to Turki [Al-Sheikh]. He goes: 'Just to let you know, please keep it confidential that we are trying to buy Matchroom.'"

Barry responded: "So what's Turki Al-Sheikh saying about he wants to buy Matchroom. Where has that come from? Which is a good thing to say when he hasn't even had a conversation about it.

"Life's getting a bit complicated. The idea is…to keep things as simple as possible, but inevitably, because of the size of the business, we're going into a situation or situations that we'd never anticipated before.

"I'm planning my exit, not just from a business, from life itself, and I want to make sure my legacy is protected and anyone who wants to invest in our company – and it is our company – has to follow the rules, no matter who they are.

"If Jesus came down, there's a criteria before I let him on the board. The same applies to Turki. It's a major, major move and there's no rush. We're not getting blown away by anyone. We take it at our own pace."

Eddie also named the price it would cost to purchase Matchroom, declaring it at £1.5b. Both Hearn and PDC CEO Matt Porter are then filmed speaking at the PDC World Darts Championship final, and the discussion about selling to Saudi Arabia arose again.

"I'm just trying to engineer the figures to the bottom line I want, especially if you got these Saudis coming on, because…that throws a whole…I mean, I don't even know…the way he was talking is, he's buying the lot," said Hearn.

"It's only natural when Saudi is expanding, that they want to be involved with the best of the best," Hearn continued to the camera. "Look no further. That's us. And I thought, 'I view it as a great compliment. But there's a long way to go before that's achievable.'"

Watch 'Matchroom: The Greatest Showmen' on Netflix from Wednesday 17th September