Close Close
Popular Financial Topics Discover relevant content from across the suite of ALM legal publications From the Industry More content from ThinkAdvisor and select sponsors Investment Advisor Issue Gallery Read digital editions of Investment Advisor Magazine Tax Facts Get clear, current, and reliable answers to pressing tax questions
Luminaries Awards
ThinkAdvisor
Fans cheering in a football stadium

Portfolio > Asset Managers

NFL Owners, Leaders to Meet on Private Equity Stakes in Teams

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

The National Football League plans to meet in Minneapolis on Aug. 27 to discuss and potentially vote on allowing institutional investors to buy into teams.

The league held meetings with multiple private equity firms this week in the hopes of completing a framework to present to owners, people with knowledge of the matter said.

After those meetings, league executives and owners feel confident enough to present a potential framework to other owners.

The NFL formed a committee last year to study how the league might allow private equity firms to buy into teams.

The group consists of its chair, Kansas City Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt, Atlanta Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank, Cleveland Browns’ owner Jimmy Haslam, Denver Broncos’ owner and CEO Greg Penner and New England Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft.

Bloomberg reported in May the owners were zeroing-in on allowing institutional investors to be able to buy 10% of clubs. Some owners would like the cap at 5%.

The league’s owners would also select a small group of vetted firms to have the first opportunity to purchase stakes.

The NFL hired PJT Partners, an investment bank, to assess interest from private equity, Sportico reported.

Firms in consideration include Arctos Partners LP, Ares Management Corp., Avenue Capital Group, Carlyle Group, Sixth Street and CVC Capital Partners, the people said.

The league also had meetings with Blackstone and Dynasty Equity, according to Sportico.

The NFL would be the last major American professional sports league to approve private equity firms buying into teams.

The NBA, whose teams are the closest to the NFL’s in terms of valuation, allows private equity firms to buy up to 20% of a single franchise, and an NBA team can only have 30% of its ownership coming from institutional investors.

Credit: Adobe Stock

Copyright 2024 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.