WE should have seen it coming.
CFG is now worth almost ten times what Mansour paid seven years ago
Just 39 days after Chinese President Xi Jinping departed from Manchester Airport following a whistle-stop tour of the city, including a drop-in at Manchester City’s Etihad Campus, a selfie with Sergio Aguero and the induction of obscure Chinese defender Sun Jihai into the English Football Hall of Fame, comes the announcement that Chinese investors have taken a slice of the Sky Blues.
A Chinese consortium - lead by China Media Capital (which holds the TV rights to the Premier League in China) and private equity firm Citic Capital – has paid £265m for a 13% minority stake in the parent company of Manchester City, the City Football Group (CFG).
The move – which values the CFG at £2 billion – aims to strengthen the group’s presence in the most untapped future football market of all, China.
It also places Man City's worth - alongside CFG sister clubs New York City, Melbourne City and Yokohama F Marionos - just behind that or arch rivals Manchester United, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange at $3.05 billion (£2.02 billion).
Chairman of CFG, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, said in a statement on the club’s website: "Football is the most loved, played and watched sport in the world and in China, the exponential growth pathway for the game is both unique and hugely exciting.
"We have therefore worked hard to find the right partners and to create the right deal structure to leverage the incredible potential that exists in China, both for CFG and for football at large.”
China Media Capital Chairman, Ruigang Li, said: “Football is now at a fascinating and critical stage of development in China.
"We see unprecedented growth opportunities in both its development as an industry, being China's most watched sport, and its inspirational role bringing people of all ages together with a shared passion."
Segio Aguero grabs a selfie with Chinese President Xi Jinping and David Cameron during a state visit in October
The £265m deal will see new shares issued in CFG, which is majority owned by Sheikh Mansour after his Abu Dhabi United Group bought Man City from the deposed Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2008 for £210 million.
Interestingly, the group is now worth almost ten times what Mansour paid for City seven years ago.
Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, said:
"Abu Dhabi United Group's ownership of Manchester City has been a huge success. With the formation of the City Football Group (CFG), Manchester is now the headquarters for a transformational global football organisation and one with an unrivalled commitment to our community and to the city.
"The new partnership and minority shareholding announced today with a consortium of Chinese Institutional Investors creates not only a platform for further growth for CFG, but also new opportunities for further widening and deepening the international investment base in Manchester."
