DALLAS — This story was originally published by our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal. Read the original version here.
Two months after gaining approval to invest in NFL teams, Arctos Partners LP could be on the verge of its first deal.
The Dallas-based private equity is in talks to acquire a minority stake in the Buffalo Bills, according to an Oct. 29 Bloomberg News report citing unnamed "people with knowledge of the matter." A transaction hasn’t been agreed to and "it’s possible another suitor, or suitors, could emerge," according to Bloomberg.
A spokesman for Arctos declined to comment when reached by Dallas Business Journal.
A Bills representative told Bloomberg discussions around the sale of a non-controlling, minority stake remain ongoing and "any potential investor cannot be confirmed or finalized until it is approved by the NFL."
Arctos is one of only a handful of firms allowed to take minority stakes in NFL franchises under new rules approved in August by the league's owners. The new ownership rules allow private equity investors to own as much as 10% of a team. In addition to Arctos, other groups that received provisional approval included Ares Management, Sixth Street and a consortium led by former NFL star Curtis Martin comprised of Blackstone, Carlyle, CVC Capital Partners, Dynasty Equity and Ludis.
The Bills, owned by billionaire Terry Pegula, announced in April that the Pegula family had hired Allen & Co. to explore the potential sale of a minority stake in the team. Pegula and his family would maintain the controlling stake.
Among the NFL's 32 teams, the Bills rank No. 30 with a $4.2 billion valuation, according to the most recent Forbes rankings. The Dallas Cowboys top the list with a valuation of more than $10 billion. The average valuation across the NFL is $5.7 billion, up 11% from the prior year as the NFL continues to rake in revenue from media rights deals with CBS, ESPN/ABC, Fox, NBC, YouTube and Amazon.
The Bills are currently in first place in the AFC East division with a 6-2 record. The franchise has made four Super Bowl appearances — all in the early 1990s — and lost all of them, including back-to-back losses to the Cowboys.
NFL insiders believed the league's prohibition against private equity hindered team valuation growth and made it more difficult for current owners to sell teams, according to Sports Business Journal.
Founded in 2019 by Ian Charles of Dallas and David O’Connor and Jordan Solomon of New York, Arctos specializes in sports team investments. The firm has previously taken minority stakes in teams such as the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings of the NBA. In April the firm announced the close of a $4.1 billion fund.
Arctos says it's the only firm approved to invest in equity across each of the five major North American sports leagues.
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