Chinese investors buy 13% stake in Manchester City
Chinese investors have bought a 13% stake in Manchester City worth £265m, as the country's love of the game continues to expand; City Football Group (CFG) sold the stake to CMC (China Media Capital) and Citic Capital.  The move will offer Manchester City the chance to grow its fan base in East Asia.  "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", sayd Khaldoon al-Mubarak, Chairman of CFG.  

City Football Group, which owns Manchester City, have announced a $400m (£265m) investment from a Chinese consortium, CMC, that buys it a 13% stake and values CFG at $3bn. The City chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, said the move will “leverage the incredible potential that exists in China”.

The investment is the latest step in CFG’s strategy to acquire a global presence. It already owns New York City FC, a start-up Major League Soccer franchise, and Melbourne City FC, of Australia’s A-League, plus it retains a minority shareholding in Yokohama F Marinos of the Japanese J-League.

Al- Mubarak said: “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.”

The tie-up with China Media Capital comes after China’s president, Xi Jinping, visited the club during a four-day state visit to Britain in October. During his visit, the former City defender Sun Jihai, who made 130 appearances for the club between 2002 and 2008, was inducted to the Manchester-based National Football Museum Hall of Fame. He was also appointed a club ambassador in China during September.

A statement on City’s website said: “City Football Group today announced a partnership with a consortium of high profile Chinese institutional investors led by China’s leading media, entertainment, sports and internet dedicated investment and operating company CMC (China Media Capital) Holdings.

“The deal will create an unprecedented platform for the growth of CFG clubs and companies in China and internationally, borne out of CFG’s ability to provide a wealth of industry expertise and resources to the rapidly developing Chinese football industry.”

Mubarak added: “Our partners have an incredible track record of creating value and could not be better placed to help us further evolve City Football Group. Our belief is that we now have an unrivalled platform to grow CFG, our clubs and companies both in China and internationally, and we will be working hard with our new partners to realise the potential that this deal creates.”

CFG stated the deal followed more than “six months of discussions among the parties to find the optimum model and associated strategies for the partnership”. The monies generated will be used by CFG to “fund its China growth, further CFG international business expansion opportunities and further develop CFG infrastructure assets”. City added: “China-based initiatives” are already being examined for potential investment.

The deal means new shares are to be issued in CFG for the consortium. All of the current ones are owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group, the company privately owned by Sheikh Mansour, who will no longer be the sole owner of CFG.

CMC will be represented at executive level by its chairman, Ruigang Li. This means there will now be seven members of the City Football Group Holding Company board.

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.

“CMC has long been dedicated to creating opportunities that facilitate positive developments in Chinese football from different aspects within the ecosystem. With its unique business model and distinct successes, City Football Group, whom we have come to know well, represents a differentiated systematic approach to building a global platform for football know-how, player development, academy programmes and commercial partnerships that will benefit China’s football industry on multiple levels.

“We and our consortium partner CITIC Capital also see this investment as a prime opportunity for furthering the contribution of China to the global football family.

Sun Jihai’s induction into the hall of fame caused controversy, being described by one MP as a “grubby little fix” to buy influence. “I don’t think [Sun’s] record justifies his selection for the hall of fame,” said the shadow sport minister Clive Efford. “I think it’s a grubby little fix and I think this sort of thing has gone on around football for far too long, where money has dictated what’s happened and not what goes on on the football field.”