This archive report was first published on 29 November 2019.
On November 28, 2019, City Football Group (CFG) announced the acquisition of a 65% stake in Mumbai City FC, marking the eighth club in their global football empire.
The deal comes a day after a US equity fund pumped $500 million in new cash into CFG, taking its value to $4.8 billion.
CFG, which also owns English Premier League champions Manchester City, New York City FC, Melbourne City in Australia, Yokohama F Marinos in Japan, Sichuan Jiuniu in China, Spanish second division side Girona, and Club Atletico Torque in Uruguay, aims to build a global football-based entertainment conglomerate.
CFG chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said, "We believe that this investment will deliver transformative benefits to Mumbai City FC, to City Football Group and to Indian football as a whole."
Mumbai City FC was founded in 2014 by Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor and Bimal Parekh, a fund manager for Bollywood stars. The team has twice reached the Indian Super League (ISL) end-of-season playoffs but never won a title.
CFG's acquisition of Mumbai City FC marks a new era for football in India, according to Nita Ambani, head of the ISL and wife of India's richest man Mukesh Ambani.
CFG chief executive Ferran Soriano said the group has been looking at football in India for years and is now convinced of the bright future for the ISL.
Simon Chadwick, a sports business professor at Salford University in England, said CFG's vision is to operate football clubs like Walt Disney, producing entertainment products that can be franchised in many countries using the latest television technology.
