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In what's been a steady few seasons of dealmaking, buyers continue to circle European soccer teams.
The latest news comes the week of March 3. Dubai International Capital offered $745 million for Liverpool Football Club and Athletic Grounds plc March 4, but reportedly set a 24-hour deadline. Its U.S. owners then reportedly rejected the offer, the AP noted March 5. Speculation had abounded that U.S. entrepreneur George Gillett Jr., who took a 50% stake in Liverpool in 2007 alongside private equity investor Tom Hicks, might sell his interest. DIC lost out to them on the deal in February 2007. Hicks, the AP said March 5, has made a bid for all or part of Gillett's share. The news came days after Sheffield Wednesday FC said it was fielding an unsolicited offer. According to the Sheffield Telegraph, two Russian billionaires, one thought to be Vladimir Yevtushenkov, could move on the team. It was the latest club in the second-tier English League Championship to draw M&A buzz, as Phineas Lambert pointed out, writing for The Deal at the time:
Other tier-two teams to field offers, he noted, include Charlton Athletic FC, which in February decided not to sell itself after receiving approaches from undisclosed suitors; Queenspark Rangers Holdings Ltd., which was sold in November in a 14 million pound ($27.8 million) deal; and Birmingham City plc, saying it was approached in June ahead of its promotion to the English Premier League. (See more below.) THE SEASON'S PLAYS Meanwhile, an interesting story surfaced Dec. 19 when the insolvency administrator of bankrupt Luton Town Football Club confirmed that actor Vincent Gallo had indicated interest in helping the club, which was put up for auction earlier that month after filing for insolvency (bankruptcy) in November, unable to pay its bills. British race car driver David Pinkney is the majority owner and manager of the club, having taken a stake earlier in 2007 and vowing to cover the team's bills until someone else took over. Whether Gallo may be in the running, the administrator didn't confirm, but said Gallo hadn't yet proved he had the $6.1 million needed to participate in a January auction. Dealscape's Gerald Magpily on Nov. 28 pointed to a Reuters report signaling U.S. investors will likely do more dealmaking in the arena. And if Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov gets his way with Arsenal Holdings plc, the last of the Big Four English clubs will have all fallen into foreign hands, Lambert has pointed out. Meanwhile, outfitting them all, Nike Inc. is fighting to buy Umbro plc to beat back archrival Adidas AG. Umbro shares rallied in London Dec. 19 after billionaire Mike Ashley, who holds a majority stake in Sports Direct International plc, a 29.95% shareholder in Umbro, indicated he wouldn't seek to block Nike's bid. A month earlier, even as England failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 soccer championships Nov. 21 and Umbro said its sales would slide, analysts didn't believe it could derail a prospective deal, Lambert wrote. Their chances of qualifying looked like a long shot for months. Kicking off November, a consortium led by Italy's Flavio Briatore won enough shareholder votes to proceed with its buyout of British soccer club Queens Park Rangers Holdings Ltd., having agreed to pay 1 million pounds ($2.1 million) and assume 13 million pounds in debt. In late September, Usmanov boosted his stake in Arsenal to 21% and days later reportedly sought to take it to 25% plus one share through his buying vehicle Red & White Holdings Ltd. The reports came a month after Arsenal's former vice chairman David Dein on Aug. 30 sold his 14.6% stake in Arsenal to Usmanov's Red & White for $151 million. If he wants control, a showdown will be tough, Lambert wrote. Directors, who control 45.5% of the club, agreed not to sell their shares until April 2008. If, however, the team is sold, Arsenal will be the last of the big four to fall into foreign hands. Others include Manchester United Ltd., Liverpool Football Club and Athletic Grounds plc and Chelsea FC plc, which was sold in 2003 to Russia's Roman Abramovich for nearly 119 million pounds ($240 million). (See more below.) The Aug. 30 news of Dein selling his stake came days after Queens confirmed it was in discussions with multiple parties. The Sun newspaper reported Aug. 17 that Briatore, an Italian entrepreneur and Renault Formula One owner, offered $44.2 million for the team and unveiled plans to wipe out the organization's debt and invest 100 million pounds in it. The team chalked reports up to rumors before confirming Aug. 24 it was in discussions. Southeast London's Charlton also confirmed bid interest earlier in August, weeks after Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of soccer-crazed Thailand who was ousted after a coup in September 2006, picked up Manchester City Football Club PC in July for $162 million. Earlier in 2007, all eyes turned to former Manchester City player Ray Ranson, who confirmed in late April he was considering a bid for the team, after press reports said he was pulling together $180 million to that end. In June, Ashley secured support from Newcastle United plc's chairman and 28% shareholder Freddy Shephard, on a play for the team he set fort May 23 valued at $266 million. Back in February 2007, Gillett and Hicks agreed to acquire Liverpool in a deal valuing the club at $429 million. Along with a pledge to build a new stadium, the pair's total commitment is 470 million pounds. The news came days after Dubai International walked away from its bid for the club and facility, after learning Liverpool would not recommend its offer to shareholders. The news came nearly two months after Liverpool had said it was in exclusive negotiations with the state-owned entity for an investment in the club, valued at nearly $900 million, news that first pushed Gillett away in early December. THE STANDINGS Weeks earlier, France's top soccer team Olympique Lyonnais Groupe SA said it expected an IPO visa from French market regulators to list on the Paris Bourse -- which would mark the first float for a French sports team. To help fund the construction for a $583 million sports park, its chairman and controlling shareholder Jean-Michel Aulas plans to raise about 100 million euros through an offering, though a date for the share sale has yet to be set. The club is taking advantage of legislation that Jan. 24 overturned a ban on public investment in French sports teams. The Deal's Paul Whitfield summed up the law: "As regulators saw it, the ban protected investors, who were likely to be team fans investing with their hearts, not their head." In seeking an IPO, OL was forging its own course at a time when many of its peers have turned to private equity buyouts. On Jan. 17, 2007 Robert Louis-Dreyfus, a former Adidas-Salomon AG chief executive agreed to sell French soccer team Olympique de Marseille SA to Canadian investor Jack Kachkar for $129 million. The news comes weeks after Manchester City plc confirmed Dec. 8 it had fielded a prospective takeover offer. According to a report from U.K. daily The Independent, City chairman John Wardle said at the club's annual general meeting Dec. 7 that he would consider stepping aside if 75 million pound ($146.8 million) takeover talks substantiate into a deal, if it meant the club would have the opportunity to "get back into the honours." The Independent speculated Friday a bidder would likely have Asian interests, given the team's expansion plans in that direction. As Lambert pointed out: "The Friday announcement was only the latest in a barrage of M&A shots on net in the English Premier League."
Earlier in the fall of 2006 British investment company Belgravia Group expressed interest in buying Newcastle United plc, which sent shares of the soccer club soaring. Newcastle stock ended Monday trading up nearly 10% at 67 pence per share on the London Stock Exchange. The buzz came just a week after the last trade was made public. On Aug. 14, Cleveland Browns owner Randolph Lerner announced an agreed-upon 62.6 million pound ($118 million) bid for British soccer club Aston Villa plc, a Newcastle rival. Lerner took the team off the block after what was nearly a year-long auction.
With the Aston Villa buyout, Lerner joined a group of NFL owners setting their sites on that other kind of football. After months of tireless pursuit, Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer acquired a majority stake in England's storied Manchester United in May 2005, which valued the club at $1.48 billion. Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, also looked into the Premier League last year and weighed acquiring a stake in Liverpool. ALL BUSINESS At the height of 2006 World Cup fever, Dealscape examined the impact of the sport's biggest global competition on the economies of its international competitors, when it comes around every four years. Others looked to the dealmaking habits of the companies carrying the marketing and sponsorship rights for the event.--Carolyn Murphy
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I think it is interesting that Germany (where they get the highest attendances in Europe) is now looking at allowing foreign investors into the game.
Currently it is possible for people to invest in a club in the country but they are not guaranteed to have any power because it is the fans who vote on who is in charge.
It will be interesting to see developments there as the loyal fanbase most clubs have could be very tempting to outside investors.