The National Football League plans to meet in Minneapolis on Aug. 27 to discuss and possibly vote on allowing institutional investors to invest in teams.
The league met with several private equity firms this week in hopes of finalizing a structure to present to owners, people familiar with the matter said. After those meetings, league executives and owners feel confident enough to present a potential structure to other owners.
Last year, the NFL formed a committee to study how the league could allow private equity firms to invest in teams. The group includes its chairman, 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 focused on allowing institutional investors to buy 10% of the clubs. Some owners would like to cap it at 5%. The league's owners will also select a small group of vetted firms that will get the first opportunity to buy stakes.
NFL hired PJT Partnersinvestment bank to gauge interest from private equity, Sportico said. Firms under consideration include Arctos Partners LP, Ares Management Corporation, Avenue Capital Group, Carlisle GroupSixth Street and CVC Capital Partners, the people said. The league also met with Blackstone and Dynasty Equity, according to Sportico.
The NFL will be the last major American professional sports league to approve the purchase of teams by private equity firms. The NBA, whose teams are closest in valuation to the NFL, allows private equity firms to buy up to 20% of a single franchise, and an NBA team can only have 30% of its ownership owned by institutional investors.
CEO Daily provides key context for the news leaders need to know from the world of business. Every weekday morning, more than 125,000 readers trust CEO Daily for insights from the C-suite and inside information. Subscribe now.