Apollo Global Management is gearing up to launch a $5 billion investment vehicle targeted at the burgeoning sports sector.
The FT said the New York-based company, with more than $800 billion of assets under management, has been accelerating its push into sports in recent years.
Its investments cover everything from Premier League football clubs to horseracing ventures.
Apollo’s most noteworthy deals to date include lending £80 million in expensive debt to Nottingham Forest Football Club, secured against assets including the club’s stadium, its first known foray into Premier League football.
The Financial Times reported that it also lent £40 million to football super agent Kia Joorabchian’s Sports Invest Holdings, charging an interest rate of 10.25 per cent.
The debt is secured against a number of the agent’s companies including AMO Racing, AMO Stables and Sports Invest UK, a branch of Joorabchian’s management group that works with footballers.
Apollo’s new vehicle will mark the first time the investment giant has allocated permanent capital to the sports sector.
The FT further stated that the group will make new hires to lead the strategy, which will focus on lending to sports leagues and teams, as well as buying stakes in clubs.
Apollo is one of several big private capital groups pushing deeper into the fast-growing area of sports finance, which is poorly served by mainstream lenders. Private capital firms can deploy capital quickly, often in return for high yields.
Apollo has also been exploring bigger deals: the US company has been in talks this summer with Atlético Madrid about taking a stake in Spain’s third-largest football club.
In recent years the group considered financing bidders for Manchester United and previously agreed a $1.25bn investment in the Mexican football league that later unravelled.
CVC, a long-term investor in sport, has invested in La Liga, Spain’s top football league, as well as rugby’s Six Nations tournament and Indian Premier League cricket franchise the Gujarat Titans.
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