RedBird Capital Partners, 11 per cent stakeholders in Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group, are to announce key investors ahead of their formal takeover of AC Milan.
RedBird, who acquired their stake in FSG in March of 2021 for a $750m sum, are set to close on the takeover of last year's Serie A champions AC Milan, with the Gerry Cardinale-led private equity firm having reached a deal to buy the club from US investment fund Elliott Management earlier in the summer for around £1bn.
A formal takeover was completed on Wednesday and RedBird has been busy in bringing in new investment after striking a deal with the New York Yankees baseball franchise and Los Angeles-based Main Street Advisors, a fund that counts FSG partner LeBron James among their investors.
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RedBird were expected to confirm the investment on Wednesday, with the Yankees and Main Street taking a minority stake in AC Milan, understood to be single digits.
But it is the commercial and marketing aspect that such a tie-in can help AC Milan achieve, pointing to the expertise that Cardinale and RedBird have and why FSG saw them as important partners back in 2021.
The Yankees remain the world's most valuable sporting franchise, and also the most marketable, the use of the New York Yankees logo extremely lucrative.
It is that marketing power that RedBird will seek to harness with their investment from the Yankees, as well as tapping into the wealth of knowledge that Yankees ownership has around matchday experience in a bid to improve that in Milan, a club that are seeking to find a new stadium in the coming seasons to aid their commercial growth and aspirations on the pitch.
The ECHO understands that one part of the link up could see AC Milan play a pre-season friendly at the Yankee Stadium in New York next summer, a venue where Liverpool played the Big Apple leg of their US pre-season tour in 2019, drawing with Portuguese side Sporting CP.
The arrival of Main Street Advisors as investors sees an FSG/Liverpool link through James' stake in the Los Angeles fund, although this investment in AC Milan is indirect, unlike the direct investment he has with FSG. There is also another FSG investor as part of the Main Street group, with record executive and co-founder of Interscope Records, Jimmy Iovine, involved. Canadian rapper Drake, one of Liverpool kit supplier Nike's most prominent clients, is also a Main Street investor. Paul Wachter, the founder of Main Street and long-time business associate of James, is himself an FSG partner.
Cardinale has strong ties with the Yankees, something that has been born from a long-time association from when he was an executive at Goldman Sachs when he was an advisor and an early investor in the YES Network, the Yankee-owned regional sports TV network that broadcasts Yankee games and content. The Financial Times suggest that the deal could eventually see some AC Milan programming arrive on YES.
Cardinale, who had once attempted to purchase Liverpool before FSG took over from Tom Hicks and George Gillett, formed RedBird in 2014 with the focus on being active investors in the business of building businesses.
They have a considerable number of investments across various industries and manage over $6bn in assets.
They have made big strides in sport in the last two years, acquiring French side Toulouse in the summer of 2020 and installing former Liverpool sporting director Damien Comolli as chairman. Toulouse, who had just been relegated when RedBird acquired them through their RedBird FC arm of the business, were promoted as Ligue 2 champions last season.
As well as their 11 per cent FSG stake, RedBird also acquired stakes in the Rajasthan Royals Indian Premier League cricket franchise and the rights to the XFL along with Hollywood actor Dwayne Johnson. The XFL, an American Football competition played outside of the NFL season, is set to launch next year and has secured a crucial broadcasting deal with Disney.
RedBird sources have previously stated to the ECHO that the plan with FSG has not changed course due to the Milan takeover, with RedBird continuing to be active investors in the Liverpool owners, potentially growing their involvement in the future.
The $750m investment into FSG in March of 2021 was done so to help bring fresh eyes and expertise into the FSG business to aid business growth across their portfolio, with the capital injection allowing FSG to press ahead with their plans despite the financial issues related to the pandemic. Liverpool's Anfield Road redevelopment has continued while FSG acquired the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL ice hockey team to add to the Reds, the Boston Red Sox baseball team and the RFK Racing NASCAR outfit.
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