Paris Saint-Germain sells minority stake to US investment firm

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Paris Saint-Germain confirmed Thursday that Qatar Sports Investments and Arctos Partners agreed to a landmark strategic partnership and investment deal in the French football club.

Arctos will “acquire a minority common equity stake in Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), the most successful football club in France and one of the leading football and multi-sports brands in the world," Paris Saint-Germain said in a statement.

Arctos Partners, a US private equity group, has invested in more than 20 professional sports organizations such as the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Soccer (MLS), Formula One and European football.

"The investment from Arctos will go towards growing PSG’s operations and also supporting the Club’s strategic real estate initiatives, including relating to its stadium and the future development phases of PSG’s world-leading training center at Poissy in suburban Paris," the club added.

State-owned Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), launched by Shaykh Tamim, bought the Parisians club in 2011.

Since acquiring the football side, PSG has won 30 trophies and last year clinched a record 11th French Ligue 1 title.