27 Nov 2019
Manchester City owner CFG valued at £3.73bn following US investment deal
BY Tom Walker
City Football Group (CFG), owner of Manchester City FC and a host of other clubs around the world, has secured a major investment deal with US-based tech investment giant Silver Lake.
Silver Lake has signed a definitive agreement to make a US$500m equity investment, equivalent to around 10 per cent of the company’s worldwide businesses.
Proceeds from the investment will be used to fund international business growth opportunities and develop further CFG technology and infrastructure assets.
The deal values CFG at US$4.8bn (£3.73bn) – breaking the record in global sports valuations.
It has a stake in seven football clubs across the world, including in the US, Australia, Japan and China.
Following the deal, Silver Lake became the second major partner in the group. Chinese institutional investors – led by China’s leading media and entertainment conglomerate CMC – hold around 12 per cent of CFG's equity. No existing CFG shareholders are selling equity as part of the Silver Lake deal.
"Silver Lake is a global leader in technology investing and their investment in CFG will provide us with opportunities for further growth," said Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chair of CFG.
"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.
"We welcome the opportunity to work with Egon Durban (Managing Partner and Managing Director) and the Silver Lake team and its network to facilitate the global growth and deepening of CFG Club fan-bases and the development of our business as a whole."
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