Velocity Capital Management, a New York-based private equity firm, has signed an agreement to acquire an ownership stake in Unique Sports Group, a London-based soccer talent representation agency, said an April 16 news release.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed; however, a person familiar with the matter said the total amount of committed capital will be more than $100 million.
Founded in 2008, USG represents athletes in the top British and European soccer leagues, including the English Premier League, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, French Ligue 1, as well as some top cricket stars.
On the whole, USG represents more than 350 soccer players globally with estimated combined transfer market values exceeding £1 billion ($1.3 billion), including Premier League stars Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace, Brennan Johnson of Tottenham Hotspur and Jacob Ramsey of Aston Villa.
The transfer market value refers to the estimated price a club would be willing to pay to sign a player as measured by TransferMarkt, a website that provides information about soccer players, clubs and competition, including market values, transfer rumors and statistics. The figure is not tied to their contract value, a Velocity spokesperson explained.
“There has been an accelerating trend of private equity investing in sports agencies, including talent representation firms and companies providing sales, marketing and consulting services to sports teams, college athletic programs and professional leagues,” said David Abrams, founder and managing partner at Velocity Capital, in an interview.
Abrams noted that private equity firms including Silver Lake Technology Management, Providence Equity Partners, TPG, EQT Private Equity, RedBird Capital Partners and others have invested in sports agency and marketing firms such as Endeavor, Wasserman Group, Creative Artists Agency, United Talent Agency and Excel Sports Management.
In December, private equity firm Bruin Capital launched a new international soccer representation agency, As1, following a series of acquisitions of separate agencies.
Velocity’s investment in USG marks its second investment in a sports agency, Abrams added, following its stake in Elevate Sports Ventures, a sports branding agency based in Charlotte, N.C. Velocity initially acquired an interest in Elevate in 2022.
USG also played an instrumental role in the recent transfer of one of its marquee players, Jhon Duran from Aston Villa to Al-Nassr Football Club in the Saudi Arabia Pro League in a deal valued at $83 million, marking the second-largest signing ever for a Saudi Pro League club.
Velocity also said it intends to leverage its current portfolio companies including Elevate to “strengthen USG’s relationships with football club owners,” the news release said.
Velocity’s portfolio of companies also include Parella Motorsports Holdings, an owner and operator of grassroots motorsports racing events across the U.S. and Canada; and X Games, which operates a series of action sports events founded by ESPN Inc. and aired on ESPN networks and ABC, among others.
Velocity also has a strategic partnership with the Texas Permanent School Fund, Austin, a sovereign wealth fund with about $60 billion in assets. In October, Texas PSF made an anchor investment of $200 million into Velocity’s flagship Velocity Opportunity Fund, the release said.
