For Aston Villa’s leading striker, Ollie Watkins (11 goals and 14 assists, at the time of writing), the arrival of a new American shareholder, Atairos, could bring new financial resources to the club as it attempts to regain its European ambitions. Photo: Shutterstock

For Aston Villa’s leading striker, Ollie Watkins (11 goals and 14 assists, at the time of writing), the arrival of a new American shareholder, Atairos, could bring new financial resources to the club as it attempts to regain its European ambitions. Photo: Shutterstock

European competition authorities have given the go-ahead for a new investor to take a stake in Luxembourg-based V Sports SCS, a limited partnership which had been wholly owned by Egypt’s richest businessman, Nassef Sawiris, and American billionaire Wes Edens. V Sports is the holding company of the Birmingham football club Aston Villa, which has European ambitions.

Aston Villa wants to return to the glories of Europe’s major football competitions. Like Peter White’s goal in the Champions League final against Bayern on 26 May 1982, followed by victory in the European Super Cup against Barcelona. Even if it means paying the price, which has not often been the case in modern times.

Owned since 2019 by a tandem of billionaires--Egypt’s richest businessman, Nassef Sawiris, worth $7.2bn (including a 6% stake in Adidas, shares in Holcim and in Madison Square Garden), and the American private equity investor Wes Edens, worth $3.4bn (including $0.5bn from the sale of the investment company he set up, Fortress Investment)--Aston Villa are slowly recovering from a period of financial disaster between 2016 and 2019, under the management of the Chinese entrepreneur Tony Xia. According to our calculations, the new owners have already injected more than €150m, plus debt, into the venture.

But that’s not enough to get back into the big league. That’s why they agreed to let a new heavyweight join them in the Luxembourg holding company that owns 100% of the club, V Sports SCS: Atairos, an American strategic investment company set up in 2016, which has more than $6.5bn at its disposal. Chairman and CEO Michael J. Angelakis was media giant Comcast’s CFO, named by his peers six out of eight years as the world’s best CFO. He sits on a number of boards, including that of the oil major ExxonMobil.

“Aston Villa is a historic football club with an exceptional management team and significant growth potential,” Angelakis stated in a press release announcing the deal on 15 December 2023. “We are strong believers in the long-term global growth potential of the Premier League and Aston Villa’s men’s and women’s teams. We are excited to bring our expertise in supporting businesses in the leisure, sports, and live entertainment industries to elevate the club to even greater heights.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Atairos will become a minority partner in V Sports and its capital investment will be used primarily to fund growth and infrastructure investments, with the aim of creating material and sustainable value for AVFC and the wider V Sports network over time.

The €458m consolidated in Luxembourg includes not only the 100% stake in Aston Villa, but also other smaller investments, including a stake in Portuguese football club Vitoria Setubal.

Originally published in French by and translated for Delano 

Related articles