Fenway Sport Group is looking to sell UK soccer team Liverpool Football Club, with its equity backer RedBird Capital being named as a potential buyer, in what has been a standout year for PE investment in the sport.
A handful of high-profile deals this year have either involved direct acquisitions or PE firms taking stakes in the clubs’ owners, according to PitchBook data.
The biggest PE soccer deal so far was the €2.9 billion purchase (about $3 billion) of Chelsea FC by a consortium led by Clearlake Capital and US businessman Todd Boehly in May.
Another notable PE soccer investment this year was Silver Lake‘s decision to increase its stake in City Football Group, the owner of Manchester City FC, in a deal worth €1.37 billion.
RedBird—which picked up a stake in Fenway Sports Group in a deal last year worth £655 million (about $776 million)—is among the sport’s most active investors. The firm already owns French club Toulouse and Italian highflyers AC Milan, for which it paid hedge fund Elliott Management €1.2 billion this year.
A number of teams in Italy’s topflight Serie A league have now moved into PE hands. Bain Capital paid €275 million for a controlling stake in Italian club Atalanta this May. Last year, 777 Partners and Oaktree Capital bought stakes in Genoa and Inter Milan, respectively.
Investing in European soccer, however, does have the added risk of relegation to lower-ranking divisions, unlike with major US sports leagues. For example, ALK Capital’s takeover of UK club Burnley FC went sour when the club was relegated from the Premier League last season, leading the firm to expedite the repayment schedule for part of the £65 million loan it had given to the team.
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