Manchester City in USD 400m Chinese investment deal

The deal remains subject to regulatory approval in some countries, Manchester City said. (Source: Reuters)

Manchester City announced Tuesday that a Chinese consortium is investing $400 million to buy 13 percent of the Premier League club’s umbrella organization in a deal that values the business at $3 billion.

Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan bought Man City in 2008 for around $400 million and since then the club has expanded to create the City Football Group including teams in New York, Melbourne and Yokohama.

China Media Capital Holdings and CITIC Capital are investing in the group after six months of talks and the deal remains subject to regulatory approval in some countries, City said.

The investment comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited City during a four-day state visit to Britain in October.

“Our belief is that we now have an unrivalled platform to grow CFG, our clubs and companies both in China and internationally, and we will be working hard with our new partners to realize the potential that this deal creates,” City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said.

Since Sheikh Mansour’s takeover, Man City has ended a 44-year title drought by winning the Premier League in 2012 – a feat that was repeated two years later.

CMC Chairman Ruigang Li said the consortium envisaged “unprecedented growth opportunities” from the investment that will benefit Chinese football.

“With its unique business model and distinct successes, City Football Group, whom we have come to know well, represents a differentiated systematic approach to building a global platform for football know-how, player development, academy programs and commercial partnerships that will benefit China’s football industry on multiple levels,” he said.

“We and our consortium partner CITIC Capital also see this investment as a prime opportunity for furthering the contribution of China to the global football family.”