Chinese consortium to buy stake in City

CLUB WILL WORK HARD WITH NEW PARTNERS, CHAIRMAN AL MUBARAK SAYS Though long overshadowed by United, City’s value as a business is now closer to its neighbour following the Chinese investment.

Manchester City announced yesterday that a Chinese consortium is investing $400 million (Dh1.46 billion) to buy 13 per cent of the Premier League club’s umbrella organisation in a deal that values the business at $3 billion.

Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, bought City in 2008 for around $400 million and the club has since expanded to create the City Football Group that includes teams in New York, Melbourne and Yokohama. China Media Capital Holdings and CITIC Capital are investing in the group after six months of talks and the deal remains subject to regulatory approval in some countries, City said.

City’s injection of funding comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the club during a four-day state visit to Britain in October. During Xi’s visit, former City defender Sun Jihai, who made 130 appearances for the club between 2002 and 2008, was inducted into the Manchester-based National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame. He was also appointed a club ambassador in China in September.

Though long overshadowed in Manchester by the more illustrious United, City’s value as a business is now closer to its neighbour following the Chinese investment. United, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is currently valued at $3.05 billion.

“Our belief is that we now have an unrivalled platform to grow CFG, our clubs and companies both in China and internationally, and we will be working hard with our new partners to realise the potential that this deal creates,” City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said.

CMC Chairman Ruigang Li said the consortium envisaged “unprecedented growth opportunities” from the investment that will benefit Chinese football.

“We and our consortium partner CITIC Capital also see this investment as a prime opportunity for furthering the contribution of China to the global football family,” he said.

State-backed China Media Capital was founded by Li Ruigang, an influential Shanghai Communist Party member. During Xi’s state visit to Britain, the Chinese president and the Prince William looked on as Li inked a deal with a British attraction operator to build a new Lego theme park in Shanghai. Li was present during Xi’s visit to the US weeks earlier, when CMC announced a tie-up with Warner Brothers to produce and distribute films.