Sports private equity firms buying football clubs (2026)
13 private equity and investment funds hold or have held stakes in football clubs in our database, across 19 club positions. 7 are active now and 10 are based in the United States. Built from public filings and news. Every row links to its source.
Funds, clubs and stakes
| Fund | Base | Clubs and stakes | Latest deal | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearlake Capital / BlueCo ownership groupActive | United States | Chelsea, majority, further control acquisition agreed | 16 Sep 2026 (agreement, closing unknown) | chelseafc.com ↗ |
| Sixth Street / Bay CollectiveActive | United States | Bay FC, lead investor | 7 Apr 2026 (agreement, closing unknown) | baycollective.com ↗ |
| Apollo Sports CapitalActive | Not public | Atlético de Madrid, majority; Wrexham AFC, minority | 12 Mar 2026 (completed) | apollo.com ↗ |
| Knighthead Capital ManagementActive | United States | Birmingham City (via Shelby), 96.64% | 10 Nov 2025 (completed by report) | thestadiumbusiness.com ↗ |
| Monarch CollectiveActive | United States | FC Viktoria Berlin Women; Angel City FC; San Diego Wave; Boston Legacy | 5 Nov 2025 (announcement) | monarchcoll.com ↗ |
| Beckett Layne VenturesActive | United States | AC Monza, 80% confirmed at first closing | 25 Sep 2025 | acmonza.com ↗ |
| Presidio InvestorsActive | United States | Hellas Verona, 100% | 16 Jan 2025 (completed by club release) | hellasverona.it ↗ |
| Bright Path Sports PartnersNo recent deal found | United States | Ipswich Town (via Gamechanger), 44% reported by investor | Aug 2024 (per investor portfolio, day unknown) | brightpathsports.com ↗ |
| Oaktree Capital ManagementNo recent deal found | United States | Inter, 99.6% indirect control acquired in 2024 (later Marotta dilution; current percentage unknown), 2024 | 22 May 2024 | inter.it ↗ |
| Ares ManagementNo recent deal found | Not public | Inter Miami, preferred equity; Atlético de Madrid, retained stake | 8 Aug 2023 (completed by investor post) | linkedin.com ↗ |
| Arctos PartnersNo recent deal found | United States | Paris Saint-Germain, 12.5% reported | 2023 (day unknown) | leparisien.fr ↗ |
| Treecorp InvestimentosNo recent deal found | Brazil | Coritiba SAF, 90% | 2023 (exact date unknown) | ge.globo.com ↗ |
| RedBird Capital PartnersNo recent deal found | United States | AC Milan, control | Aug 2022 (day unknown) | finance.yahoo.com ↗ |
Funds that say they want more
Sixth Street / Bay Collective: “Bay Collective to invest in premier women’s football clubs across the globe” sixthstreet.com ↗
Bright Path Sports Partners: “We target assets globally that offer unique potential for growth” brightpathsports.com ↗
Arctos Partners: “Partner with new control owners or diversified platform builders to acquire sports franchises” arctospartners.com ↗
Questions
Which private equity firms own football clubs?
In our database, 13 funds hold or have held stakes in football clubs, including Clearlake Capital / BlueCo ownership group, Sixth Street / Bay Collective, Apollo Sports Capital, Knighthead Capital Management. The table above lists each fund, its clubs, stake and latest deal with a source link.
How many of these funds are still active?
7 of 13 are marked active: they have a recent deal or an agreement that has not closed yet. The others have an older deal and no new public move that we have found.
Where are these funds based?
10 of 13 list the United States as their base. A few do not state a headquarters in public sources, so the table shows "Not public" for them.
Do funds take control or minority stakes?
Both. Some hold control, for example a fund that bought the whole club. Others hold a minority stake or preferred equity. The stake column shows what the source reported, and some stakes are not public.
Where does this data come from?
Club and fund announcements, regulatory filings and news reports. Click a fund to see the source for each fact. We do not use private data on this page.
Updated 20 Oct 2026. See also the full football club owners list, recent club sales and what buyers paid and American investors in European football.