Silver Lake Increases City Football Group Control
American global private equity firm Silver Lake has increased its stake in the parent company of Premier League champions Manchester City FC City Football Group (CFG), in a move that see it become the football club’s second largest shareholder.
Silver Lake has acquired its latest set of CFG stock from equity and venture capital firm China Media Capital. The 4.1% share purchased by the US investment firm takes its overall shareholding up to 14.5% while China Media Capital’s shareholding has dropped to 8%.
As well as Manchester City, CFG boast investments in 10 other footballs clubs worldwide, including majority control over the likes of Melbourne City, Girona FC, Mumbai City FC, Lommel SK, and New York City FC.
Its most recent addition saw the group take control of Italian second-tier football club Palermo, securing an 80% shareholding.
CFG itself is controlled by the Abu Dhabi royal family, who bought Manchester City in 2008 and then established the holding company in 2013.
Silver Lake has a track record of investing in global sport businesses, initially acquiring a 10% interest in the City Football Group in 2019 for $500m (£438m).
Earlier this year, Silver Lake agreed to take a 5.7% stake in New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team, and recently took control of Diamond Baseball Holdings in a move which saw 10 Minor League Baseball franchises added to its portfolio at a cost of $280m (£245m).
