The American fund Arctos Partners has taken a “minority stake” in the capital of Paris Saint-Germain, the club announced on Thursday, which hopes to continue its expansion, the owner Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) however retaining “control of all decisions “. According to a source close to QSI, Arctos took 12.5% of the capital of the French champions based on a total club valuation of 4.25 billion euros. Which puts Arctos’ investment at around 530 million euros.
Provide new guarantees for the repurchase of the Parc des Princes
“PSG is no longer just Qatar”, underlined the same source, even if “QSI maintains total control over PSG”. “This day is an important milestone in the history of PSG,” said club president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, quoted in a press release. “As a club and an institution, we are entering the next exciting phase of PSG’s growth and development, both on and off the pitch,” added the Qatari leader.
Arctos Partners, headquartered in Dallas, was founded in 2019 and has interests in several professional sports organizations around the world such as MLB (Major League Baseball), NBA (North American Basketball League), the MLS (Major League Soccer), the NHL (the North American Ice Hockey League), Formula 1, and in several football clubs in Europe. “PSG operations”, “real estate initiatives” or even “expertise” to “continue international expansion” are among the advantages that the Parisian club says it expects from this agreement.
It will provide new guarantees for the Parc des Princes repurchase project, while discussions are officially blocked with the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, according to a source close to QSI. PSG should also submit a file for the purchase of the Stade de France in January in order to maintain an alternative in the event of an impasse on the file for the historic stadium. Arctos also wants to help PSG invest in women’s football and other sports, specifies the club, which includes handball, judo and e-sport divisions.
QSI bought PSG for 70 million euros in 2011
In November 2022, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, the president of PSG, explained to the Financial Times that he had entered into discussions with several investors in order to sell up to 15% of the club, which according to him did not constitute a disengagement, but a strategic contribution. “We received an offer of more than 4 billion (euros) but we are not going to sell, of course, just a percentage of the club, we are thinking about it, we even have different offers,” he said one month later during the World Cup in Qatar.
The QSI investment fund bought PSG in 2011 from previous owner Colony Capital, with the club valued at €70 million at the time. Thus, “for QSI, in addition to the arrival of a leading strategic partner and new investments to take the club to the next gear, the transaction with Arctos also symbolizes the incredible growth and appreciation of the value of the PSG under the supervision of QSI for more than ten years,” welcomed the Qatari fund.
PSG considers this financial operation as the logical complement to its “incredible sporting transformation this year”, says QSI, with “a new coach”, Luis Enrique, a “new team” giving pride of place to the French and a less “bling bling” philosophy than in the past. Even if the very short-term future of the Parisian club remains uncertain in the Champions League before a final crucial match in Dortmund, Wednesday on the last day of the group stage.