City Football Group, the global soccer conglomerate that owns and operates New York City FC as well as Manchester City and several other clubs around the world, announced a hefty new equity investment from California-based private equity firm Silver Lake on Wednesday.
The deal brings $500 million to CFG, “equivalent to just over 10% of the company’s post-investment value,” according to a CFG release, which equates to a whopping $4.8 billion valuation of CFG as a whole.
With their investment, Silver Lake become CFG’s second major partner in the group, joining a consortium of Chinese investors led by media and entertainment giant CMC Inc. which holds about 12% of the soccer empire’s equity. Silver Lake’s managing director Egon Durban also gets a seat on the CFG board.
“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,” said CFG chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak in a statement.
“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.”
According to Al Mubarak, the new injection of capital will be used “to fund international business growth opportunities and develop further CFG technology and infrastructure assets.”
Owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group, CFG operate Man City, NYCFC, Australia's Melbourne City FC, Japanese club Yokohama F Marinos, Spain's Girona, CA Torque in Uruguay and China's Sichuan Jiuniu, along with assorted other properties and partnerships.
