The National Football League on Wednesday approved the purchase of a 10% stake in the New York Giants by Julia Koch in a transaction that values the team at $10.3 billion, according to two people who are close to the deal but not authorized to speak publicly. The deal marks the highest valuation placed on an NFL team for a team sale.
The Giants are currently owned by the Mara and Tisch families. CNBC broke the news in May that Koch was looking to buy a limited partnership piece of the Giants.
The league also approved the sale of two other limited partner stakes, according to a person who is close to the approvals but does not have permission from the NFL to speak about them publicly. The person confirmed that Dean Metropoulos and private equity firm Sixth Street Partners bought an 8% stake in the New England Patriots in a deal that values the team at $9 billion, and that Fortress Investment Group Executive Chairman Pete Briger Jr. picked up a 3.2% stake in the San Francisco 49ers in a deal that values the team at about $8.6 billion.
All three limited partner sales had to be approved by at least three-quarters of the NFL’s owners.
As CNBC reported last month, the proceeds from the limited partner sale of the Patriots will go on the team’s balance sheet. A person who is familiar with the deal but not authorized to speak about it publicly said the post-money valuation for the Patriots is $9.5 billion. The York family, which owns the 49ers, also sold a 6.2% stake in the team in May at an $8.6 billion valuation, according to a person familiar with that deal.
