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Sports holding company City Football Group, owner of Manchester City, has secured a seven-year, $650 million loan in one of the sport’s biggest debt deals.
The company will use the money underwritten by Barclays to invest in its 10-club international soccer network, including a new $1 billion arena for its Major League Soccer franchise, New York City FC. That plan is currently being held up due to a feud between the New York Yankees and the city of New York.
CFG has also organized a $138.2 million revolving credit facility with the same finance providers, according to The Financial Times.
City Football Group was valued at $4.8 billion in 2019 following the sale of a 10% stake to Silver Lake Partners for $500 million. China Media Capital owns another 12%.
- Last year, CFG secured $2 billion from Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, which is run by Manchester City chair Khaldoon al-Mubarak.
- Manchester City had to pay roughly $5.2 million for taking part in the short-lived Super League. Forbes reported in April that the team lost $172 million in 2019-2020, partly due to the pandemic.
- In May, CFG entered a joint venture with Oak View Group to build Co-op Live, a $495 million indoor music and entertainment arena next to Man City’s stadium.
City Football Group was founded in 2013 as a part of the UAE’s deputy prime minister’s Abu Dhabi United Group.
Under Sheikh Mansour’s ownership, roughly $3.5 billion has been invested in Man City, leading to five Premier League titles. Mansour is worth an estimated $22 billion.
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