Private equity made to wait for Super Bowl win as Seahawks triumph
Private equity was forced to wait for its first NFL Super Bowl win after the Seattle Seahawks beat the Sixth Street-backed New England Patriots on Sunday.
The fund, based out of Super Bowl host city San Francisco, acquired a minority stake in the Patriots last November after the NFL opened up its league to a limited group of firms.
It added the New England Patriots to a Sixth Street sporting portfolio that includes NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, MLB’s San Francisco Giants, football teams Real Madrid and Barcelona, basketball side the Boston Celtics, and National Women’s Soccer League side Bay FC.
But their involvement was not able to help the New England Patriots, who lost 13-29 to the Seattle Seahawks at the Levi’s Stadium.
Private equity in the NFL is a new ball game, with up to 10 per cent of each club able to be sold off to any number of Arctos Partners, Ares Management Corporation, Sixth Street, and a consortium group including Blackstone, Carlyle, CVC, Dynasty Equity, Fortress and Ludis.
Each firm is allowed up to 3 per cent of up to six teams.
Super Bowl private equity slump
Ares Management holds a stake in the Miami Dolphins while Arctos Partners have shares in both the LA Chargers and Buffalo Bills. Fortress invests in the San Francisco 49ers while Sixth Street is involved with the Patriots.
But Super Bowl winners the Seattle Seahawks could be sold for a fee in the region of $10bn in the coming year.
Issues with the controlling Allen family could see them forced to sell the club to avoid financial penalties leveraged against them, according to a number of reports.
A $10bn valuation would see the Seahawks jump Sunday’s opponents into fourth spot on the most valuable NFL franchises list, behind the Dallas Cowboys ($13bn), the Los Angeles Rams ($10.5bn) and New York Giants ($10.1bn).