City Football Group acquires stake in Indian Super League

CFG agrees deal to take 65% majority stake in Mumbai City FC Indian Super League team to become eighth club in City Football Group (CFG) network Acclaimed actor and film producer, Ranbir Kapoor to stay with Club as minority shareholder Damian Willoughby, takes on CEO role of City Football Group India Mumbai, India / Manchester, England – City Football Group (CFG) has agreed a deal to acquire a majority stake in its eighth club, Mumbai City FC in the Indian Super League, marking a major move into Indian football. CFG will become the 65% majority shareholder of the Club, alongside existing shareholders, acclaimed actor and film producer, Ranbir Kapoor and Bimal Parekh who combined will hold the remaining 35% of shares. Completion of the investment remains subject to the approval of certain football bodies News of the acquisition was revealed today in front of the Club’s fans by CFG Chief Executive Officer, Ferran Soriano together with Chairperson, Football Sports Development Limited and Reliance Foundation, Mrs Nita Ambani. The deal will see Mumbai City FC benefit from the Group’s commercial and football know-how, whilst at the same time delivering a new and exciting element to the CFG global commercial platform.
Mumbai City FC plays its home games at the 8,000 capacity Mumbai Football Arena, which sits within the Andheri Sports Complex, a multi-purpose sports facility. The team is currently five games into the sixth ISL season.
CFG, the world’s leading private owner and operator of football clubs, which is best known for its ownership of English Premier League Champions, Manchester City FC, also comprises New York City in the US, Melbourne City FC in Australia, Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan, Club Atletico Torque in Uruguay, Girona FC in Spain and Sichuan Jiuniu FC in China.
CFG’s operations will now include 8 football clubs and football related businesses in 13 offices around the world. The Group has expanded significantly since its inception in March 2013, and now employs more than 2,000 staff and has more than 1,500 footballers who play over 2,500 games every year. Through its Cityzens Giving campaign, CFG has also supported community programmes spanning six continents, including Mumbai in its 2019 edition.
The announcement comes in a busy period for CFG. Just prior to closing this deal to acquire Mumbai City FC, the Group confirmed a new equity investment from Silver Lake, a global leader in technology investing, valuing the Group at $4.8bn. Last week, also saw Manchester City FC release its annual report with record revenues and fifth continued year of profits, at the same time as representatives visited India as part of the Club’s trophy tour.