US investment firm Monarch Collective has entered the European sports market with the acquisition of a 38% stake in German club FC Viktoria Berlin Women, marking its first investment outside the US, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The transaction adds to Monarch’s growing women’s football portfolio, which already includes stakes in Angel City FC, San Diego Wave FC, and Boston Legacy FC. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2023 and backed by Melinda French Gates’s Pivotal Ventures, Monarch has raised approximately $250m to invest exclusively in women’s sports. Co-founder Kara Nortman said Germany was a strategic starting point for the firm’s European expansion, citing the country’s high GDP and the German Football Association’s €100m investment in the women’s Bundesliga as key factors.

FC Viktoria Berlin Women, founded in 1889, plays in the second division of the women’s Bundesliga following its promotion last season. The team transitioned from amateur to professional status in 2022 under a new ownership group led by two-time World Cup champion Ariane Hingst. Since then, it has secured Nike as a front-of-kit sponsor and provided full-time contracts and health insurance to players.

Monarch is also reportedly in exclusive talks to acquire a 49% stake in West Ham United Women FC and recently expanded its London operations to support further European investments.

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