Silver Lake Becomes Manchester City’s Second Biggest Shareholder

Silver Lake increased its stake in the parent company of Manchester City FC, becoming the football club’s second largest shareholder in the process. 

The private equity firm added about 4.1% to its existing holding in City Football Group Ltd., which is controlled by UAE deputy prime minister Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to documents filed with the UK’s Companies House. The stake was acquired from Chinese investor CMC Football Holdings Ltd. at some point between early 2020 and January 2022, filings show. 

Silver Lake now owns 14.5% of City Football Group, while CMC’s interest has fallen to around 8%. Representatives for City Football Group and Silver Lake declined to comment, while a spokesperson for CMC wasn’t immediately available for comment. 

Silver Lake has been one of the pace setters among private equity groups investing in global sports businesses. It initially acquired a roughly 10% interest in City Football Group in 2019 as it sought to gain exposure to the world’s richest football league.  

The firm has targeted individual sports groups rather than pursuing the strategy of some rivals, including CVC Capital Partners, of buying into the media media rights of professional leagues. Earlier this year, Silver Lake agreed to take a 5.7% stake in New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team.  

Under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour, Manchester City has become one of Europe’s most successful football clubs. It has won four of the last five English Premier League titles. A consortium backed by China Media Capital Holdings bought into City Football Group in 2015, just weeks after Chinese President Xi Jinping had visited Manchester City’s training ground.