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在线翻译:
szdaily -> World Economy -> 
Rich Americans plow fortunes into European soccer bargains
    2020-09-24  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

RICH Americans are placing their bets on European soccer.

Kyle Krause, whose family fortune was built on the Kum & Go convenience store chain in the midwestern United States, agreed Friday to acquire control of Italy’s Parma. The move came just weeks after billionaire Dan Friedkin, owner of a network of Toyota dealerships, bought rival team Roma in a 591 million-euro (US$693 million) deal.

The last 18 months have also seen American takeovers of Italy’s ACF Fiorentina and France’s Toulouse FC. Driving this flurry of deals is a belief that European soccer offers better value than U.S. sports, according to Pacific Media Group co-founder Paul Conway, whose firm owns teams on the continent.

“Investing in American sports is very expensive and at high valuations,” Conway said, noting that professional baseball and basketball teams in the United States fetch at least US$1 billion.

Another U.S. investor lured by the European game is Joseph DaGrosa, who’s in talks to purchase English Premier League team Southampton, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The team’s owner, Chinese businessman Gao Jisheng, is seeking about 200 million pounds (US$256 million).

Gao’s investment vehicle, Lander Holdings Ltd., didn’t respond to an email and phone calls seeking comment. A representative for DaGrosa said he is looking at various teams across different leagues, declining to comment on any specific targets.

Americans now hold major stakes in about one-fifth of the 60 teams playing across the top soccer leagues in the U.K., Italy and France, according to consultancy KPMG. Their presence is made conspicuous by the retreat of Chinese investors, who in recent years bought teams including Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion.

“Chinese investment effectively dried up after its government proposed a more inwardly focused sports investment strategy,” said Michael Broughton, an adviser at Acceleration Equity, a fund investing in sports teams. “The vacuum has been principally filled by U.S. investors who see value in European football.”

DaGrosa wants to emulate the model of Abu Dhabi’s City Football Group Ltd., which owns stakes in 10 teams including Manchester City and achieved a valuation of nearly US$5 billion following an investment by U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake Partners last year.

“There’s nothing better” than the English Premier League, DaGrosa said in a phone interview earlier this year. “We want to create a football platform that can go public and attract institutional investors and get a multibillion valuation.”

More deals could be on the way. American media entrepreneur Henry Mauriss was earlier this year weighing a bid for England’s Newcastle United F.C., which is back in play following the collapse of its planned takeover by a Saudi-led consortium. (SD-Agencies)

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