The New York Giants have hired investment bank Moelis & Co to sell a minority stake in the NFL team, launching a rare chance to invest in one of New York’s flagship franchises.
The Giants join a clutch of NFL teams looking to sell minority stakes, driven in part by recent rule changes allowing private equity investors to become part-owners.
“The Mara and Tisch families have retained Moelis & Company to explore the potential sale of a minority, noncontrolling stake in the New York Giants. There will be no further comment in regard to the process,” the team said in a statement.
The Giants are one of the five teams that joined the NFL in 1925, and have been owned by the Mara family since then. In 1991, the Tisch family bought 50% of the team.
The Giants have struggled of late, last winning the Super Bowl back in 2012, led by Eli Manning.
Many NFL owners are older and are considering increasingly complex succession planning, particularly as the value of the teams has soared into the billions of dollars.
President Donald Trump is also looking to eliminate the existing special tax breaks for billionaire sports team owners, a move that would likely spur more deals if enacted.
Late last year, the Miami Dolphins sold a stake to Ares Management, while Arctos Partners acquired a piece of the Buffalo Bills.
Unlike controlling owners, who can only invest in one team at a time, private equity investors will be able to buy stakes in as many as six teams at once.
The Giants sale process was first reported by the Sports Business Journal.
