Sportico reported:
The Carlyle Group targeted professional soccer years ago. Carlyle provided financing for Italian club Atalanta in March 2022. For the NWSL:A group led by private equity giant Carlyle Group and the Seattle Sounders have reached an agreement to purchase the NWSL’s Seattle Reign FC in a deal that values the NWSL club at $58 million.
Carlyle is providing the majority of the financing, according to someone familiar with the details, though that doesn’t necessarily mean the private equity fund will have operational control of the club.The Reign are currently owned by John Textor’s Eagle Football, which bought the French soccer holding company OL Groupe in December 2022. (OL Groupe, best known for the Lyon teams, purchased the Reign back in 2019 for around $3 million.) The NWSL team was put on the market last year shortly after Michele Kang, owner of the NWSL’s Washington Spirit, bought the Lyon women’s team.
Amid the influx of new deals, private equity has become a bigger investor.
Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein is buying the Baltimore Orioles alongside other billionaires and sport stars. One investor is the Michele Kang mentioned above.
It's relative common for private equity underwriters to rename affiliates. To clear up any likely confusion:
The name "Seattle Reign FC" was used for the team's first six seasons, then the team was renamed to "Reign FC" in 2019. This name lasted just one season before the team's name was changed to "OL Reign" in 2020. "OL Reign" came as part of the Olympique Lyonnais family under OL Groupe's acquisition of the team in 2020.The renaming happened in January 2024. It's not clear if Carlyle had any input into this decision.
Private equity underwriters (PEU) are the blob taking over professional sports, an escape for employees who've suffered under PEU ownership.
PEUs and their billionaire founders have reigned over tax policy and carry outsized influence in government circles. They want your every dollar. It's getting harder and harder to avoid them.
Update 3-19-24: Carlyle is out of any financing for the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves.
