Wolverhampton Wanderers owners Fosun has bought back a minority stake in its subsidiary, Fosun Sports, from US-based investment firm PEAK6.
The Chicago-based company bought a stake in Fosun Sports — which owns Wolves and several Wolves-related companies including esports brands, a record company and a clothing firm — three years ago.
However, Fosun has now bought the shares back for around $50million (£38.92m; €46.69m).
PEAK6 Investments, led by co-founders Jenny Just and Matt Hulsizer, owners a range of companies and previously held stakes in Premier League club Bournemouth and Italian Serie A side Roma.
Announcing the initial sale in October 2021, a Wolves statement read: “The investment makes PEAK6 a new strategic partner to Wolves, who will help Fosun Sports accelerate the club’s growth in North America by providing capital, expertise, visibility, and activation opportunities for Wolves and Wolves Esports across the USA.”
PEAK6 director John Makowiec also became a director of Wolves, but the partnership has now ended with Fosun regaining the shares.
What does the deal mean for Wolves?
Essentially, it returns Wolves to the pre-2021 status quo with Fosun Sports regaining the minority stake that it sold.
It could be viewed as a simple case of PEAK6 wanting to spend its money elsewhere and Fosun choosing to buy back the shares instead of seeing them sold to a third party.
But it could also be seen as a tidying up exercise with Fosun known to be looking for investment in the club.
The Athletic has been told by several sources with knowledge of football finance that third parties claiming to be working for Fosun have attempted to find buyers for Wolves, which has been owned by the Chinese conglomerate since 2016.
Fosun has always denied suggestions that it was courting a sale of Wolves, while acknowledging that all assets are theoretically for sale for the right price.
However, in a recent interview with the Telegraph, Wolves executive chairman Jeff Shi confirmed that Fosun was in talks with potential minority investors.
Fosun has come in for increasing criticism from Wolves fans in recent years following the success of the early years of its reign, which brought promotion from the Championship to the Premier League, two successive seventh-placed finishes in the top flight, an FA Cup semi final and a Europa League quarter final.
Stadium improvements which were mooted early in Fosun’s ownership have also failed to materialise, leading to fans questioning Fosun’s ambition for further success.
PEAK6’s investment was in Fosun Sports and not directly in Wolves, so ownership of the club is not directly affected, but Fosun Sports is effectively a company built around Wolves and associated brands.
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