Arctos Is in Talks to Buy Minority Stake in the NFL’s Buffalo Bills
(Bloomberg) -- Investment firm Arctos Partners is in talks to acquire a minority stake in the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
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The firm, led by co-managing partners Ian Charles and David O’Connor, is in discussions to buy a stake from controlling owner, billionaire Terry Pegula, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss confidential information. A transaction hasn’t been agreed to and it’s possible another suitor, or suitors, could emerge.
A representative for the Buffalo Bills said the team’s sale of a non-controlling, minority stake remains ongoing and “any potential investor cannot be confirmed or finalized until it is approved by the NFL.” The Bills representative added the Pegula family remains committed to Bills fans and its new Highmark Stadium, and declined to comment further. A representative for Arctos declined to comment.
In August, NFL owners voted to allow private equity investors to own as much as 10% of a team. Firms already approved to buy stakes are Arctos Partners, Ares Management Corp., Sixth Street Partners and a consortium led by former NFL star Curtis Martin and comprised of Dynasty Equity, Blackstone Inc., Carlyle Group Inc and CVC Capital Partners Plc.
In April, the Buffalo Bills said Pegula had hired Allen & Co. to explore the potential sale of a non-controlling, minority interest. Pegula has a net worth of $12.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The Bills have never won a Super Bowl, the sport’s most coveted title.
(Updates to add David O’Connor in second paragraph and context around the Bills in last paragraph.)
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