FSG and Liverpool partners RedBird are about to make major $600m move

RedBird are to sell their stake in OneTeam Partners for a return of more than 500%

RedBird Capital Partners, the private equity firm that holds an 11% stake in Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group, is to sell its 40% stake in One Team Partners in a deal that will book profits of around $600m for the New York-based fund.

RedBird were a founding investor in OneTeam back in 2019, the company created to look after the licensing and commercial rights for more than 10,000 athletes represented through the MLB Players’ Association, NFL Players’ Association, MLS Players’ Association, US Women’s National Team PA, WNBAPA, NWSLPA, US Rugby PA, and the LCSPA, as well as college athletes.

The sale of RedBird’s stake sees the three-year-old OneTeam valued at $1.9bn, meaning that RedBird have seen more than a 500% return on their investment, a return that has far outpaced the average private equity return over the same period, which analysts at Pitch Book had pegged at around 99%.

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RedBird’s raison d’être is to play at active role in building the businesses that they become involved with, an active investor in a market where there are many passive investors.

Key to their plan has been hiring the right people to guide elements of their business, with former Cleveland Browns president Alec Scheiner heading their sporting investments, which as well as indirect stakes in FSG-owned Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox, also includes majority ownership of French Ligue 1 side Toulouse as well as the more recent acquisition of Italian giants AC Milan from fellow New York investment fund Elliott Management.

RedBird also added Kevin LaForce last year, the NFL executive who was key to the league securing a record $100bn 10-year broadcasting deal.

Source: Echo

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