American investors sink £400m into Manchester City
An American investment firm has bought a ten per cent share of Manchester City in a deal worth just under £400m.
Technology investment firm Silver Lake has bought a ten per cent share of the City Football Group for £389m.
The deal values the club at $4.8bn or £3.7bn.
The US private equity firm is injecting new capital into the Abu Dhabi-controlled organisation that owns Manchester City and its affiliated teams in the US and China.
California-based Silver Lake invests in technology companies such as Alibaba, Dell and Skype.
In recent years it has started to focus on the entertainment sector and its portfolio now includes the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Hollywood talent agency Endeavor.
The companies said the transaction was subject to regulatory approval in some territories.
Silver Lake had approached other leading English and European clubs, including Chelsea before opting to invest in City.
Sheikh Mansour remains the majority shareholder in the club with 77 per cent, while a Chinese consortium owns 13 per cent.
The investment will be used to fund “international business growth opportunities” and develop the technology and infrastructure of the group.
City Group chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said: “Silver Lake is a global leader in technology investing, and we are delighted by both the validation that their investment in CFG represents, and the opportunities for further growth that their partnership brings.
“We and Silver Lake share the strong belief in the opportunities being presented by the convergence of entertainment, sports and technology and the resulting ability for CFG to generate long-term growth and new revenue streams globally.”
Silver Lake managing director Egon Durban, said: “We are excited to invest in CFG, which is redefining football globally and in doing so has successfully built an impressive global platform of marquee football clubs across five continents.
“We greatly respect CFG’s stewardship of more than a century of football tradition and the strong global fanbases of its clubs.
“We are excited to partner with the board and CFG’s world-class management team to help drive the next phase of CFG’s growth in the fast-growing premium sports and entertainment content market.”
