What's going on?

The owner of English football � ahem, soccer � club Manchester City has netted $500 million from a US private equity firm, valuing the company at $4.8 billion. Bravo, sir.

What does this mean?

Silver Lake � which manages $43 billion in assets � has been looking to buy a soccer company for some time now. But it�s ultimately picked the Abu Dhabi-controlled City Football Group (CFG), which owns soccer clubs in the US, Australia, and China � as well as English giants Manchester City (tweet this)

Silver Lake had the Stones to buy a 10% stake for $500 million, making CFG the world�s most valuable sports group. CFG will now try to use that money to scale its Sterling success: it�s considering buying Indian team Mumbai City, and may build a stadium in New York to capitalize on Major League Soccer�s growing audience.

Why should I care?

For markets: What would Jesus do?
Silver Lake has a history of tech investments, including Chinese retailer Alibaba. But it seems tempted by the massive fees broadcasters pay to sports teams: the English Premier League gave City almost $200 million last year, which is set to increase thanks to competition from streaming services. Other investors are now following Silver Lake�s lead: Manchester City rival Manchester United, whose stock is publicly traded, saw its shares soar 12% on Wednesday.

The bigger picture: Any Laporte in a storm.
Abu Dhabi�s royal family will continue to own 77% of CFG through a major fund, as part of a strategy to diversify away from oil. But another giant fund � which controls the nation�s money � is doubling down on the black stuff: it�s reportedly planning to invest over $1 billion in Saudi Aramco�s share listing next month. And having had a Grimshaw response from overseas investors, Aramco�s now relying on diplomatic allies like Abu Dhabi to achieve the $1.7 trillion valuation it�s aiming for.