RedBird Capital Partners

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RedBird Capital Partners
Founded2014;11 years ago (2014)
Founder Gerry Cardinale
Headquarters New York City, New York, United States
Key people
Gerry Cardinale (managing partner)
John Thornton (chairman)
Hamid Biglari (senior partner)
Jeff Zucker (executive)
Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan (investor)
Subsidiaries RedBird IMI (joint venture with International Media Investments)
Website redbirdcap.com

RedBird Capital Partners is an American investment management firm founded in 2014 in New York by Gerry Cardinale. [1] The company has assets under management of over $10 billion as of 2022. [2] [3]

Contents

Investments

RedBird is active in several tertiary sectors such as consumer goods, financial services, telecommunications, media, technology and sports. [4] The company serves as producer of Amazon’s Reacher series and Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick . RedBird has also invested in Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's Artists Equity, LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s SpringHill Company and the Fenway Sports Group. [2]

In August 2019, RedBird acquired a minority stake in YES Network, after helping Yankee Global Enterprises activate their buy back option to purchase Fox's 80% share for $3.5 billion after Disney acquired 21st Century Fox during the same year after the Department of Justice ordered Disney to sell the network on antitrust grounds due to its ownership of ESPN. [5] [6] On August 31, 2022, the company completed the acquisition of AC Milan from the US fund Elliott Investment Management for €1.2b. RedBird also owns Toulouse FC, a club from the city of the same name that plays in Ligue 1 since 2020 and acquired a minority stake in Liverpool F.C. in 2021. [7] [8] [9]

In August 2020, the company acquired the assets of the XFL for $15 million, along with Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson, from the brand's founder, Vince McMahon. [10]

In June 2023, former media executive Jeff Zucker joined as an executive at a RedBird subsidiary co-owned with International Media Investments (IMI), a state-funded enterprise of the United Arab Emirates owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The joint venture, known as RedBird IMI, allows IMI to invest in RedBird's sports and entertainment properties. [11] [12]

In December 2023, RedBird announced a merger between the XFL and USFL to be called United Football League (UFL) starting in 2024. [13] In July 2024, the company funded Skydance Media's acquisition of National Amusements from the Redstone family, a purchase that also includes a controlling stake in Paramount Global. [14]

On 23 November 2024, Sky News reported that CVC Capital Partners, TF1, RedBird Capital Partners, All3Media, Mediawan and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts had been linked to a potential takeover bid for ITV plc and a possible break-up of core assets such as ITV Studios and ITVX. [15]

On 30 January 2025, Reuters reported that RedBird IMI were in early-stage talks with ITV plc to merge the All3Media and ITV Studios production businesses. [16]

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References

  1. ↑ Cuccinello, Hayley; Campbell, Dakin. "How Gerry Cardinale became the go-to dealmaker for the Yankees, AC Milan, and Ben Affleck". Business Insider. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  2. 1 2 viapiuser (December 22, 2020). "Gerry Cardinale". Variety. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  3. ↑ root (May 20, 2022). "Chi è RedBird, il fondo pronto all'acquisto del Milan". Calcio e Finanza (in Italian). Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  4. ↑ Sport, Sky (July 31, 2023). "RedBird Capital Partners, chi è la società proprietaria del Milan | Sky Sport". sport.sky.it. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  5. ↑ Smith, Gerry; Ahmed, Nablia (August 11, 2018). "Fight for Fox Local Sports Channels Could Shake Up Broadcasting". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  6. ↑ Hayes, Dade (August 29, 2019). "YES Network Finalizes $3.5B Sale To New York Yankees, Sinclair And Amazon". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  7. ↑ Hunter, Andy (March 31, 2021). "Liverpool boost as owners confirm $735m RedBird deal for stake in FSG". The Guardian . Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  8. ↑ "RedBird Capital Partners completa l'acquisizione di AC Milan". AC Milan (in Italian). Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Foot : Toulouse vendu au fonds américain Redbird Capital Partners". leparisien.fr (in French). July 20, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  10. ↑ Hayes, Dade (August 3, 2020). "XFL Acquired By Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia And RedBird Capital Partners". Deadline. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  11. ↑ Mullin, Benjamin (June 4, 2023). "Former CNN Chief Jeff Zucker Has a New Job at RedBird IMI. What Is It?". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  12. ↑ Hayes, Dade (December 13, 2022). "Jeff Zucker, RedBird Capital And Abu Dhabi's IMI Formalize Joint Venture With $1B Earmarked For Media And Sports Investments". Deadline. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  13. ↑ Weprin, Alex (December 31, 2023). "Combined XFL and USFL to be Called UFL, Will Air Games on Fox and ESPN Platforms Starting in 2024". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  14. ↑ Rizzo, Lillian (July 8, 2024). "Paramount agrees to merge with Skydance, ending monthslong negotiations and Redstone era". CNBC. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  15. ↑ "ITV back in spotlight as suitors screen potential bids". Sky News . November 23, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Exclusive: ITV, RedBird IMI in early-stage talks to merge production businesses, sources say". Reuters . January 30, 2025.
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