October 14 – Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group looks set to expand its capital base with the sale of 25% of its stock to RedBall Acquisition Corp.
The made-in-the-USA deal would value Fenway reportedly at £6.2 billion and would give it the cash to expand into the European club market with a club acquisition. It could also spark a stock market listing for the sports group.
RedBall is an investment fund set up by famed moneyball man Billy Beane (pictured), a friend of Fenway’s principal John Henry. Henry, along with Manchester United co-owner Joel Glazer, is one of the driving forces behind the ‘Project Big Picture’ proposal that would restructure professional football in England and tilt the power balance of the Premier League in particular towards the big six clubs of Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, Man City, Man Utd and Liverpool.
See News Analysis: The real Big Picture
Beane has already dabbled in European football as part of the consortium that acquired Barnsley and holds a minority share in Holland’s AZ Almaar.
His partner in RedBall is RedBird Capital Partners and together they have raised a £445 million acquisition fund with the aim of buying a sports franchise. That cash won’t buy much in the US, but it could make a significant splash in European football, particularly in Covid-challenging financial times.
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