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Billionaire Marcelo Claure has purchased a 10% stake in the holding company that owns MLS club New York City FC and its yet-to-be-built stadium in Queens, a deal that values the entity at roughly $1.5 billion, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
It’s a return to MLS for Claure, the former CEO of Sprint, who was a co-founder of Inter Miami until he was bought out in 2021. NYCFC’s team and stadium now roll up to a single holding company that has similar cap structure, said the people, who were granted anonymity because the details are private. City Football Group US Holdco LLC is now 80% owned by City Football Group (majority held by Emirati sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed), 10% by the New York Yankees and 10% by Claure.
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An NYCFC representative declined to comment on the valuation, or to say who he was buying from. An attempt to reach Claure via LinkedIn wasn’t immediately successful. Sportico most recently valued the soccer team at $840 million; the stadium, expected to open in 2027, is budgeted to cost about $780 million.
Claure is the founder and CEO of the Claure Group, which invests across technology, climate, energy, lifestyle and entertainment. He is worth about $2 billion, according to Forbes. He and Masayoshi Son held about 48% of Inter Miami until they were bought out by the Mas brothers at an enterprise value between $600 and $650 million, Sportico reported at the time.
Claure has business ties to City Football Group as well. In 2020 he invested in Spanish club Girona FC, another team in the City portfolio. (City’s ownership of Girona is currently in an independent blind trust to ensure compliance with UEFA regulations). In 2021, City purchased Bolivian side Club Bolívar, where Claure is an investor and serves as president.
“We have had the pleasure of working with Marcelo closely across various City Football Group projects, and this investment continues to strengthen his commitment to the Group,” Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of City Football Group and NYCFC, said in a statement. “Marcelo has an incredible passion for soccer, for MLS, and for the growth of the sport in the United States. He shares our vision for the development of the game, and this partnership will be invaluable as we embark on this exciting new chapter for New York City FC, building toward playing in our own stadium in 2027.”
The news comes a few months after the New York City Council approved the next phase of the club’s stadium project in Willets Point, Queens, near the New York Mets stadium. The project will be privately financed and hold approximately 25,000 people.
City Football Group’s portfolio includes 13 clubs on five continents.
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