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U.S. private equity firm Dynasty Equity has purchased a minority stake in Liverpool Football Club worth at least $100 million, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The investment in a Premier League football club is the latest example of private equity’s interest in sports and highlights the growing market for new sports funds such as Dynasty.
Liverpool is part of Boston-based Fenway Sports Group, a consortium of media companies and professional sports teams, including the Boston Red Sox in baseball and the Pittsburgh Penguins in ice hockey.
FSG itself has received passive institutional investment from other sports-focused funds, including Arctos Sports Partners and RedBird Capital Partners.
The group scrapped plans for a potential sale of Liverpool in February but retained Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs as financial advisers as external investment options, ultimately brokering the dynasty deal.
“Our long-term commitment to Liverpool remains as strong as ever,” FSG president Mike Gordon said in a statement. “We have always said that if an investment partner was suitable for Liverpool, then we would pursue the opportunity to help secure the club’s long-term finances. Resilience and future growth.”
FSG and Dynasty said the new funding would be used to repay debt accumulated by Liverpool during the coronavirus shutdown, as well as infrastructure investment at the club’s Anfield stadium and wider growth off the pitch.
FSG bought Liverpool for £300m in 2010 but did not disclose the club’s valuation based on the new investment. However, Forbes valued it at US$5.3 billion in May, ranking it as the fourth most valuable football club in the world.
The club narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Champions League at the end of the 2022-2023 season, but is currently second in the Premier League, having last won the title in 2020.
New York-based Dynasty was founded last year by asset management veteran Jonathan Nelson and investment banker Don Cornwell.
With their respective backgrounds at Providence Equity Partners and PJT Partners, the pair have advised on or led sports industry transactions, including the creation of broadcaster YES Network, the sale of sports talent management company IMG to Hollywood agency William Morris Endeavor and the sale of Buffalo Bills football team.
The stake in Liverpool Football Club is Dynasty Group’s first investment. Nelson and Cornwell said in a statement they were delighted to support the club and work with FSG.
In recent years, North American professional sports leagues have opened up to institutional investment, prompting the launch of several sports-focused funds, including Arctos and investment firm Blue Owl’s Dyal HomeCourt.
Meanwhile, traditional asset managers and private equity firms such as Ares Management, Sixth Street Partners and Clearlake Capital have taken stakes in clubs on both sides of the Atlantic.
One of the factors behind the influx of private capital into sports is the high valuations of clubs and leagues, especially in North America, where it is becoming increasingly expensive to acquire entire teams or limited partnerships.
A person familiar with Dynasty said the company will focus on buying minority stakes in professional clubs and leagues in North America and around the world.
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