Top private equity news of the week

Apollo Global Management has acquired a minority stake in Wrexham AFC, adding one of Europe’s fastest-growing football projects to its expanding sports portfolio, while Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac remain in full control, the FT reported on Monday.

The investment, understood to be less than 10%, will also fund redevelopment of the Racecourse Ground. The financing supports Wrexham’s long-term plan to reach the Premier League, continuing the club’s rapid transformation under its celebrity owners. Reynolds and Mac said: “The dream has always been to take this club to the Premier League while staying true to the town. Growth like that takes world-class partners who share our vision and ambition, and Apollo absolutely does.”

Paramount Skydance has launched a hostile $108.4bn offer for Warner Bros Discovery, intensifying one of the largest and most politically charged takeover battles in global media, according to news reports.

The all-cash $30-per-share proposal aims to derail Netflix’s $72bn pact announced last week.

Paramount argues its offer delivers greater value and regulatory certainty, providing $18bn more in cash to Warner Bros shareholders than Netflix’s mixed cash-and-stock bid. The firm also says a merger of Paramount and Warner Bros would create a stronger competitive counterweight to the dominant streaming platforms.

CVC Capital Partners has elevated long-time dealmaker Peter Rutland to the newly created role of president as the publicly listed private equity group completes the largest promotions round in its history, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.

The firm has promoted about 218 employees across its global platform, including seven new managing partners. The move strengthens CVC’s leadership bench less than two years after its stock market listing. Søren Vestergaard-Poulsen, a managing partner who co-chairs the private equity board, has also been appointed chief investment officer of the private equity business.