THE NEW YORK, The top players in baseball are joining forces with one of the most renowned soccer clubs in Europe.
The baseball powerhouse, which already has a minority stake in MLS's New York City, is expanding its ownership stake in Italian champion AC Milan.
According to The Financial Times, a Los Angeles-based fund led by LeBron James is also investing in a minority stake in the seven-time European champion through RedBird Capital Partners. RedBird is close to finalizing a deal to pay 1.2 billion euros ($1.2 billion) for the majority ownership of Milan.
In June, the managing partner and RedBird founder Gerry Cardinale announced a tentative agreement to purchase Milan from fellow American company Elliott Management. By the end of September, the closing is expected.
Approximately 10% of Milan will be acquired by Yankees Global Enterprises, the baseball team's parent company run by the Steinbrenner family, according to a source familiar with the talks who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the terms of the deal had not yet been made public.
Randy Levine, president of the New York Yankees, said on Tuesday, "We're extremely certain that the Yankee brand is the most recognisable sports brand in the world, and we think we can assist improve the revenue of AC Milan by being connected with it."
A 20% ownership stake in the New York City Major League Soccer team, which debuted in 2015, was agreed upon by the Yankees in 2013. The controlling owner is City Football Group, Manchester City's parent organization.
Additionally, the YES Network and Legends Hospitality, which were established in 2008 with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, are owned by Yankees Global Enterprises.
According to Levine, our almost 25-year friendship with Gerry and RedBird was the driving force behind it. When Gerry founded RedBird, the Steinbrenner family was one of the early investors. When Gerry was at Goldman Sachs, we collaborated closely with him to develop the YES Network and Legends Hospitality. When RedBird was established, and YES was acquired back from Disney, he was working on Goldman's work on the new Yankee Stadium. RedBird then joined forces with us, and YES.
The Yankees, a 27-time World Series champion, and Milan, a 19-time Italian champion, are entering a separate marketing partnership to see game replays televised on the YES Network, just like Manchester City. Additionally, there will be cross-merchandising between the Rossoneri and the pinstripes.
According to Levine, we are somewhat familiar with soccer; we have gained some knowledge since working with City Football Group. "We believe it to be a wise investment. Unlike Man City, we do not want to become involved in managing the soccer side. We defer to the professionals. We already have a lot to do on the baseball side.
Levine is leading the search for a location for a soccer facility for the MLS team while New York City plays most of its home games at Yankee Stadium.
Milan recently won its first Italian championship in eleven years.
James' fund, Main Street Advisors, also has partnerships with the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool of the English Premier League, and rapper Drake.
The Financial Times, which broke the initial news of the investments, stated that James and Drake will be passive investors in Milan through the fund and had not purchased direct stakes.
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