49ers Venture Arm Buys 2nd Soccer Team With Rangers FC Deal

The San Francisco 49ers’ venture arm is getting deeper into the other kind of football, with a new investment in Rangers FC announced Friday. 

The agreement sees a group led by longtime healthcare executive Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises buying a majority stake in the soccer club, which plays in Scotland’s top tier, the Scottish Premiership. As part of the deal, the Rangers will receive a £20 million ($27 million) infusion from the new investors. The consortium will own a 51% stake in the Rangers, a person familiar with the matter tells FOS. 

Cavenagh—founder of ParetoHealth—will assume the role of board chairman for the club. He has a history of playing soccer himself, as goalkeeper for Swarthmore College from 1988 to 1991. “We know that the true way to honour the club’s heritage will be to drive performance,” Cavenagh said in Friday’s statement.

The board refresh doesn’t stop there. Also joining the team’s board as vice chairman is Paraag Marathe, president of 49ers Enterprises. The team is getting three other additional board members—Mark Taber, Andrew Clayton, and Gene Schneur—while three existing board members—Graeme Park, Julian Wolhardt, and Alastair Johnston—will step down.

The deal builds on a growing portfolio of investments for 49ers Enterprises, and represents its second foray into soccer. The firm also owns 100% of Leeds United FC, which will play in the Premier League next season after being promoted. That deal, completed in 2023, saw Andrea Italian businessman Andrea Radrizzani divesting his majority stake for a reported $209 million after Leeds was relegated from the Premier League.

In addition to the two soccer clubs, 49ers Enterprises has invested in the likes of electric vehicle charging station developer ChargeNet and sports tech company SportsPro, according to Pitchbook.

A representative for the 49ers declined to comment further than what was included in Friday’s press release, and Cavenagh could not immediately be reached.

The deals come not long after the NFL team received a capital infusion itself. The 49ers announced May 20 that a group of three Bay Area families have joined as minority owners: the Khosla family, the Griffith family, and the Deeter family. The families acquired a reported 6% stake at a more than $8.5 billion valuation.

Jed York and his family remain majority owners of the 49ers.