City Football Group has confirmed a major investment deal with tech investment giants Silver Lake

The agreement will see United States-based Silver Lake make a £389million million equity investment in the group, for around 10% of the company. 

The deal increases the value of City Football Group to around US$4.8B and means Silver Lake has become the second major partner in the group. 

Around 12% of CFG equity remains held by a consortium of Chinese institutional investors led by China’s leading media and entertainment conglomerate CMC Inc.

Commenting on the latest investment, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Chairman of City Football Group said: “Silver Lake is a global leader in technology investing, and we are delighted by both the validation that their investment in CFG represents, and the opportunities for further growth that their partnership brings.

“We and Silver Lake share the strong belief in the opportunities being presented by the convergence of entertainment, sports and technology and the resulting ability for CFG to generate long-term growth and new revenue streams globally.”

“We welcome the opportunity to work with Egon Durban (Managing Partner and Managing Director) and the Silver Lake team and its network to facilitate the global growth and deepening of CFG Club fan-bases and the development of our business as a whole.”

No existing CFG shareholders are selling equity as a result of this primary capital investment.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak has indicated that the proceeds from the investment will be used by City Football Group to fund international business growth opportunities and develop further CFG technology and infrastructure assets.

Silver Lake managing director Egon Durban, added on the deal: “We are excited to invest in CFG, which is redefining football globally and in doing so has successfully built an impressive global platform of marquee football clubs across five continents.

“We greatly respect CFG’s stewardship of more than a century of football tradition and the strong global fanbases of its clubs.

“We are excited to partner with the board and CFG’s world-class management team to help drive the next phase of CFG’s growth in the fast-growing premium sports and entertainment content market.”

Insider Insight: This deal not only highlights the power of Manchester City, but also of the City Football Group and the global commercial benefits that come with being as part of a group of clubs like this. 

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