March 3 – Malaysian Vincent Tan, owner of Cardiff, has reportedly sold half his stake in Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Los Angeles FC (LAFC), valuing the club at a league high $700 million.
LAFC, who only debuted in the MLS in 2018, opened their 2020 campaign against David Beckham’s MLS debutants Inter Miami with a 1-0 win at the weekend.
On the $700 million valuation Tan – who sold his shares internally to other LAFC owner – would have received about $70 million for the first tranche. The ownership group is understood to be in the process of buying the rest of Tan’s shares.
LAFC has rapidly become a major success story, playing in the Banc of California Stadium, one of the most fashionable and stylised venues anywhere in world football, and having put down roots in a city where the now defunct Chivas MLS franchise failed to gain traction.
The team’s large ownership group mixes business executives, athletes, celebrities and money managers but is essentially controlled by a trio of owners –Apollo Global Management senior partner Larry Berg, Ares Management co-founder Bennett Rosenthal, and Brandon Beck, co-founder of Riot Games. Minority owners include Golden State Warriors co-owner Peter Guber; actor Will Ferrell; Magic Johnson; and former U.S. soccer star Mia Hamm.
Tan’s exit reflects what looks to be a scaling back of his financial commitment to football clubs around the world.
He reduced his controlling stake in Bosnian champions FK Sarajevo last year, but remains a major shareholder of Belgian club KV Kortrijk.
Financial uncertainly surrounds his Cardiff ownership following the relegation of the club from the Premier League last season and the unresolved financial transaction around the £17 million acquisition of Emiliano Sala who tragically died in an air crash before he could play for the club.
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