In an attempt to strengthen investment across their international network of football clubs, City Football Group (CFG) have raised $650m in one of the biggest debt deals football has ever seen - according to the Financial Times.
Samuel Agini, Murad Ahmed, Robert Smith, and Stephen Morris of the Financial Times report that the debt deal smashes Barcelona's €525m refinancing agreement with Goldman Sachs out of the park and is believed to be in the same region as Tottenham Hotspur's deal to build their new stadium, which saw them borrow £637m from numerous banks.
The report states that CFG's intentions for the loan, which is due to be paid back by July 2028, is to fund infrastructure projects like the creation of a new stadium for their Major League Soccer side, New York City FC, which does still require approval from local authorities.
The Financial Times revealed that the seven-year loan was underwritten by Barclays, with HSBC and KKR Capital Markets helping arrange and distribute the debt.
Along with owning Manchester City, CFG also own clubs in the United States, Australia, and India, while having shares in other clubs around the globe. This is all just within the past decade, so as they are growing fast, it is impossible to see where they will end up investing in next.
FT add that separate from this transaction, CFG have also organised a revolving credit facility, with the same finance providers - although they have no immediate desire to use it, according to a source close to the group.
The Financial Times write that people close to the deal said CFG's executives opted for raising debts as they believe it is a cheaper way to raise cash than selling more equity.
The owners of the Premier League champions sold a 10% stake to a US-based private equity firm, Silver Lake, valuing CFG at $4.8billion, which was a record for a sports group at that time. China Media Capital also own 12%.
Written by: @DanGP17_
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