Silver Lake has increased its stake in City Football Group (CFG) to more than 18%, making it the second largest shareholder in Manchester City‘s ownership group.
CFG revealed that the additional shares were acquired from the venture capital firm China Media Capital (CMC), which originally occupied an 8.2 per cent stake.
CMC has managed to sell 7.24 per cent of its stake in CFG, with half going to Silver Lake and the remaining half heading to the Manchester City owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who has enhanced his stake in CFG to become the major shareholder via Abu Dhabi-based Newton Investment and Development company.
CFG defined the agreement as a further endorsement of the company’s business strategy and continued international growth.
CFG’s portfolio currently comprises 12 soccer clubs, the most recent addition being Brazilian second-tier side Esporte Clube Bahia. Furthermore, the organisation recently completed a reported £11.2 million (US$13.6 million) takeover of Palermo, an Italian second-tier club.
In 2019, Silver Lake purchased a slightly more than 10% stake in CFG in a deal valued at $4.8 billion. It then expanded its stake to 14.5% by reportedly purchasing shares from CMC in September.
Silver Lake, in addition to CFG, purchased Endeavor’s professional development league (PDL) business Diamond Baseball Holdings in August for approximately US$280 million. The company also invested NZ$200 million (US$130.45 million) for a minority stake in New Zealand Rugby’s commercial division.
CMC, which already owns just 1% of CFG, has given up its seat on the group’s board, with media mogul Li Ruigang resigning as a result of the latest transaction. According to the Financial Times, CMC previously owned up to 13% of the group.
CMC will remain to offer essential information and expertise to the board, according to City, who added in a statement that ‘CMC remains a cherished CFG partner, particularly in China.’