U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake has agreed to invest $500 million in the owners of English soccer champions Manchester City, valuing the Premier League club’s owner at $4.8 billion. Silver Lake will buy just over 10% of Abu Dhabi-controlled City Football Group (CFG), which owns Manchester City, the companies said on Wednesday, confirming a report in the Financial Times newspaper. Europe’s top soccer clubs have drawn in big money from some of the world’s richest investors over the last decade, as the game attracts more and more fans in lucrative markets such as Asia, the United States and the Middle East.
