Manchester City owner raises $650m in one of soccer’s biggest debt deals

Manchester City owner raises $650m in one of soccer’s biggest debt deals

Manchester City’s parent company has raised $650million (€550 million) in one of football’s biggest ever debt deals as it seeks to step up investment in its international network of football clubs.

City Football Group (CFG), the Abu Dhabi-controlled holding company that owns the English Premier League champions alongside clubs in the US, Australia and India, recently raised the loan, which will come due in July 2028, according to multiple people familiar with the transaction.

The debt deal beats the €525 million debt refinancing arrangement between Goldman Sachs and Spain’s FC Barcelona agreed in June. It is roughly the level of England’s Tottenham Hotspur, which borrowed £637 million in 2019 from several banks to build its new stadium.

CFG intends to use the money to fund infrastructure projects such as a new stadium for its Major League Soccer franchise New York City FC, which has been mooted for years but still requires approval from local authorities.

But the group has shown an appetite for rapid growth, having either taken full ownership or bought minority shares in 10 clubs worldwide over the past decade.

The seven-year loan was underwritten by Barclays, with HSBC and KKR Capital Markets helping arrange and distribute the debt, according to people familiar with the deal.