01 Dec 2015
Chinese consortium takes £265m stake in Man City FC parent company
BY Matthew Campelli
The parent company of Manchester City Football Club has sold 13 per cent of the business to a Chinese consortium as part of a US$400m (£265m, €378m) deal.
City Football Group (CFG) has agreed the stake with Chinese media, entertainment and sports firm China Media Capital (CMC) and private equity company CITIC Capital, following six months of discussions.
The deal values CFG at US$3bn (£2bn, €2.8bn), although the agreement is subject to regulatory approval in some territories. CFG also owns Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise New York City FC and the A League’s Melbourne City FC, as well as a minority stake in Japanese club Yokohama F. Marinos.
Prior to the sale, CFG was wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) – the privately-owned company of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The deal will see new shares issued in CFG in addition to the ones held by ADUG. Chair of CMC, Mr Ruigang Li, will become a board member of CFG alongside chair Khaldoon Al Mubarak, and non-executive directors Simon Pearce, Martin Edelman, Mohamed Al Mazrouei, John Macbeath and Alberto Galassi.
According to CFG, the deal will facilitate the funding of growth in the Chinese market, with the chance to develop “infrastructure opportunities”.
Al Mubarak said the partnership would provide an “unrivalled platform to grow CFG, our clubs and companies both in China and internationally”.
“We have worked hard to find the right partners and to create the right deal structure to leverage the incredible potential that exists in China, both for CFG and football at large,” he added.
“Football is now at a fascinating and critical stage in development in China,” added Ruigang Li. “We see unprecedented growth in both its development as an industry, being China’s most-watched sport, and its inspirational role bringing people of all ages together with a shared passion.”
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