Birmingham City FC
Knighthead Capital Management acquisition · 7 May 2023
- Seller
- Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited (BSH; HKEX: 2309, later renamed ZO Future Group)
- Stake acquired
- 45.6%
- Control
- Yes
- Reported consideration
- Undisclosed
- Implied equity value
- —
- League
- EFL Championship
- Country
- England
- Confidence
- MEDIUM
Knighthead Capital Management acquired an initial 45.6% of Birmingham City FC from Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited (BSH; HKEX: 2309 and others, announced 7 May 2023, closing 13 Jul 2023.
The purchase consideration was not disclosed.
Nearest pre-acquisition revenue was €20.4m (FY 2021/22).
- Announced
- 7 May 2023
- Closed
- 13 Jul 2023
- Stake after transaction
- 45.6%
- Status
- completed
Reported consideration
What the buyer reportedly paid for the stake
Implied 100% equity value
Calculated: consideration ÷ stake acquired
Reported club valuation
Enterprise value
Only shown when debt/cash near the transaction date is established
Debt assumed / restructured
Primary capital injection
Total announced investment commitment
Commitments are not purchase price and not valuation
Nearest pre-acquisition financial year: 2021/22
Revenue
Wages
EBITDA
Net debt
Net income
Knighthead Capital's Shelby Companies Limited completed acquisition of a 45.64% stake in Birmingham City Plc plus full ownership of the St Andrew's stadium company from listed vehicle Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited (HKEX: 2309) on 13 July 2023, following an EGM approval the same day; BSH was renamed ZO Future Group shortly after. Despite BSH being a Hong Kong-listed entity with regulatory disclosure obligations, no party publicly disclosed a cash purchase price for the stake or the stadium in the sources we could verify — this is a case where a stock-exchange-listed seller still leaves consideration UNDISCLOSED in the sources found, likely because the operative HKEX circular (not independently fetched here due to a 403 block) may contain figures we could not access directly.
The 45.64% stake, while short of 100%, gave SCL full operational and boardroom control per the press release, consistent with Knighthead's later moves toward full ownership. Pre-acquisition revenue is taken from the last filed full financial year (FY ended 30 June 2022, £17.55m per specialist analyst almajir.net), since FY2022/23 accounts (to 30 June 2023) were not yet filed at the July 2023 completion date. No implied equity value or revenue multiple can be calculated without a disclosed consideration figure.
- PR Newswire — "Knighthead Completes Birmingham City Football Club Acquisition" ↗Tier 1 · primary company
2023-07-13 — “Shelby Companies Limited (SCL), an affiliate of Knighthead Capital Management LLC, completed its transaction with the majority owners of Birmingham City Football Club, including Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited, on 13 July 2023, acquiring full ownership/control of St Andrew's and 45.64% of Birmingham City Plc; new seven-member board appointed including Tom Wagner.”
- MarketScreener — "Shelby Companies Limited completed the acquisition of 45.64% stake in Birmingham City PLC from Birmingham Sports Holdings" (summarising HKEX filings) ↗Tier 3 · regulatory filing summary
2023-07-13 — “States Shelby Companies signed a letter of intent 12 Apr 2023, entered agreement 7 May 2023, EGM held 13 July 2023 to approve sale, and completion of the 45.64% Birmingham City Plc stake same day; BSH renamed ZO Future Group in Sept 2023. Direct WebFetch of this page returned 403 in this pass — content here is from search-result summary only and should be cross-checked against the underlying HKEX circular before treating stake/date facts as fully independent corroboration.”
- almajir.net — "BCFC: 2022 Accounts Analysis" ↗Tier 4 · specialist media
2023-03-27 — “"This year's accounts also confirm total revenues of £17.55m, which is up £4m on the previous year" for Birmingham City's year ended 30 June 2022 — the last full pre-acquisition financial year with filed accounts.”