The continued growth in sports property valuations through the 2020s has led to a raft of new investors entering the European soccer space.
In recent days, it was revealed that a consortium including the founders of private equity giant KKR and the prominent Walton-Penner family has acquired a large minority stake in historic Spanish soccer side Valencia CF.
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This deal, for 42% of the club, values Valencia at €1.25 billion ($1.4 billion), pricing the transaction at €525 million, with the new investors also putting a further €100 million of investment into the side immediately.
The group, termed Pitchwise Holdings, is led by investor pair Ann Rodriguez and Corey Woolfolk, and includes backing from KKR co-founders George Roberts and Henry Kravis, as well as Penner Sports Group, the investment vehicle of Greg and Carrie Walton-Penner.
Penner Sports Group is part owner of the NFL’s Denver Broncos franchise, and earlier this year acquired a 40% stake in the Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball team.
Kiat Lim, Valencia’s president, will remain in place, alongside Rodriguez and Woolfolk in the new ownership group, with his side of the ownership mix, Meriton Holdings, remaining majority shareholder of 57% of the LaLiga club.
On the investment, Lim said: “There has been no shortage of interest in Valencia; the Pitchwise team was the only partnership I was keen to pursue. They bring long-term investment expertise and sports acumen.
“I am confident that we are entering a new era and we can achieve great things for Valencia CF. Together we will build a modern club whose men's and women's teams compete consistently in Europe, whose academy produces world-class talent, and whose new home at Nou Mestalla becomes a landmark for the city and the entire region of Valencia."
In the 2024-25 season, the club generated €103.7 million in revenue, making an operating profit of €23.8 million over the period.
A valuation of €1.25 billion is lofty for a Valencia team that, on the pitch, has struggled to offer much in the way of promise for supporters over the past few years.
Valencia have not finished above ninth in LaLiga since the 2018-29 campaign, and have flirted with relegation multiple times in that period.
Currently, after 10 games, Valencia sit second-to-last in LaLiga, having won only once in the league so far this year.
Despite that, the club’s operations off the pitch are what have really powered this valuation, chief among them the 70,000-capacity Nou Mestalla stadium project, which will be completed this year, giving the team a new home after over 100 years.
Valencia are expecting to generate as much as three times the stadium revenue from their new home, compared to what they are currently drawing at their ‘used-up’ Mestalla home.
Upon completion, the Nou Mestalla will boast the fourth-highest capacity of any stadium in LaLiga, and will be one of the 15 largest stadia in Europe, surpassing Munich’s Allianz Arena, Seville’s Estadio de la Cartuja, and London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Crucially, with that expanded capacity (around 20,000 seats more than the current Mestalla) comes access to new revenue streams that the current venue’s restrictions simply rule out.
Matchday revenue reportedly accounts for about a quarter of Valencia CF’s annual turnover, so if Segarra is correct and the stadium increases that figure by as much as three times, then overall club revenues could increase by 50% within a year of opening.
Elsewhere in European soccer, record German champions FC Bayern Munich have also sold a minority stake, just under 6.7% in all, to Viessmann Generations Group, bringing in a rare external investor.
The club, majority fan-owned as most clubs in Germany are, has been valued at €3.73 billion through the transaction, which is reportedly worth €250 million.
The majority shareholding of the fan-ownership association (termed FC Bayern München eV) now stands at 70%, while the other three external investors in the club- sportswear giant Adidas, car brand Audi, and insurance firm Allianz – have had their stakes diluted from 8.33% to just under 7.8%, meaning minority investors hold 30% of the club in all.
Viessmann, the heating tech firm, has been a sponsor of FC Bayern since 2018, and the company’s head Max Viessmann, who leads the Viessmann Generations Group family office, is a noted fan of FC Bayern.
On the deal, Viessmann himself said: “FC Bayern and Viessmann have worked closely together since 2018. We are now taking the next step by becoming a shareholder of FC Bayern.
“As a fourth-generation family business, we want to contribute both capital and our entrepreneurial experience to the collaboration. We want to play our part in maintaining a strong FC Bayern – a club with its own identity, economic independence and sustained success.”
Read more – Is the Nou Mestalla the key to Valencia CF's financial revival?
