Qatar expands football interests after buying stake in Portuguese team
Deal with SC Braga marks first move into multi-club ownership for state fund that owns Paris Saint-Germain
The Qatari investment fund that owns Paris Saint-Germain has bought a stake in a top-tier Portuguese football team, marking its first foray into multi-club ownership championed by Abu Dhabi.
Qatar Sports Investments, a state-backed fund, will pay about €19mn for a 22 per cent stake in SC Braga, who sit third in Portugal’s top division.
Owning stakes in multiple football clubs is increasingly common across Europe, with almost half the English Premier League’s 20 teams now linked to a broader network in some way. There are more than 70 multi-club groups operating, more than double the number from five years ago, according to Deloitte.
The biggest is Abu Dhabi-backed City Football Group, which owns or holds stakes in 12 clubs including English champions Manchester City, Girona FC in Spain and Japanese side Yokohama F Marinos.
Todd Boehly, the new co-owner of Chelsea FC, said recently that he was looking to build a multi-club group, while RedBird Capital, which acquired AC Milan earlier this year, also owns Toulouse FC in the French league.
Portugal has become a particular target for international football investors, attracted by the strong links to South America that have helped several clubs turn strong profits from player trading.
In the past five years, Benfica has netted almost €500mn from transfers, according to figures from Transfermarkt. SC Braga made a profit of almost €180mn from player sales over the same period.
QSI was attracted by what it sees as SC Braga’s potential for growth, according to a person familiar with the process. The club is hoping to break the hold of Portugal’s traditional top three teams, and so secure a place in the lucrative Champions League.
Nasser al-Khelaifi, chair of QSI and president of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), said: “As an investor and partner, we look forward to the club innovating, growing and developing further across the men’s and women’s teams, on the commercial and brand side . . . as SC Braga continues its ambitious path.”
There is also scope for increased television revenue when the Portuguese league begins selling rights centrally rather than on a club-by-club basis, a process that is due to start in the next few years.
Since buying PSG in 2011, Qatar has poured money into the project to help attract top players including Kylian Mbappé, Neymar, and Lionel Messi. The club has won eight of the past 10 French league titles, but the ultimate prize of winning the Champions League has proved elusive.
“We believe that this is the right shareholder to accelerate our growth and expansion, helping us deliver on our amazing potential as a club,” said SC Braga’s president António Salvador.
Qatar, which is due to host the World Cup next month, does have other interests in European football. Belgian club K.A.S. Eupen is owned by the Aspire Zone Foundation, an entity linked to the country’s elite sports academy. Al-Khelaifi is also chair of the European Club Association, a lobby group of elite teams.
De Beers names Equinor executive as new chief
Oil veteran Al Cook to replace Bruce Cleaver after 7 years in charge
De Beers has appointed Al Cook to the top job at one of the world’s largest diamond producers, hiring externally from the oil and gas industry to replace Bruce Cleaver after seven years at the helm.
Cook, whose 25 years in the energy industry most recently included heading Norwegian oil major Equinor’s exploration and production business, will join as chief executive early next year, the diamond group said on Monday.
Cleaver will become co-chair after navigating a tricky period for the diamond industry in which he focused on introducing technology to prove the provenance of De Beer’s stones and revamping its sales agreements.
Duncan Wanblad, chief executive of De Beers’ owner Anglo American, said Cleaver had “successfully steered De Beers through a period of considerable change”.
Cook will become the third chief executive of De Beers since 2012 when Anglo bought the Oppenheimers’ stake, bringing an end to 80 years of control under the South African billionaire family.
Before joining Equinor, Cook spent 20 years at BP, including serving as former chief executive Bob Dudley’s chief of staff.
The handover comes after a difficult period for De Beers, whose share of Anglo’s earnings has shrunk to 5 per cent from 23 per cent in 2016, according to Berenberg, with diamond prices slumping on weaker demand in China and oversupply for polishers and cutters.
“De Beers has underperformed from a return on capital standpoint for many years after being one of the pillars that kept Anglo American supported in a really terrible time around 2015,” said Richard Hatch, analyst at Berenberg.
The diamond market is under pressure as China continues to pursue its zero-covid policy and inflation squeezes consumer spending in the west.
However, uncertainty over Russian gemstone supply has boosted demand for De Beers’ diamonds in recent months, helping earnings before tax and interest almost double to $718mn in the first half of the year. US jewellers have boycotted supplies from Russian rival Alrosa and western governments have weighed up further sanctions against Moscow that could target precious stones.
Analysts and investors said Cook will bring an ability to manage relations with governments in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, where De Beers operates, but noted that he lacked a background in luxury consumer goods.
“He is a deep strategic thinker, which is what De Beers needs. There are remarkable similarities between the oil business and the diamond business, which is what makes this a sensible appointment,” said one top Anglo American shareholder. “There is a consumer-facing luxury brand component here though, and this is something where he doesn’t have experience.”
Renault/Nissan: rare opportunity to reshape troubled alliance
French group needs support for restructuring plan, giving Japanese partner stronger bargaining chips
Renault boss Luca de Meo has steered the French vehicles group competently since he took the wheel in 2020. Hopes are rising he can now get past a recurring roadblock: a fraught relationship with Japanese alliance partner Nissan. Reports of “trustful discussions” about the alliance’s future sent Renault’s share price up 5 per cent on Monday.
There is plenty to discuss. Renault wants Nissan to agree to its plan to offload part of its combustion engine business — codenamed “Horse” — to China’s Geely. It also hopes Nissan will invest in Renault’s proposed electric vehicle unit, internally known as “Ampère”. The restructuring would be aimed at boosting valuations, sharpening decision-making and improving access to capital.
In return, Nissan is pushing Renault to reduce its current 43.4 per cent stake, possibly to as little as 15 per cent. Nissan would then no longer be deemed to be under Renault’s control. That might allow the Japanese group to exercise its voting rights on a 15 per cent stake in Renault.
Renault would benefit from reducing the capital it has tied up in Nissan. The stake now accounts for €6.1bn of its €9.4bn market value. That leaves a stub worth €10 a share, not much more than its €7 (ex Nissan) earnings per share, estimates Jefferies.
The valuation is weighed down by the complex shareholding structure, as well as operating profit margins below most peers. Renault lost its second-biggest market when it exited from Russia earlier this year. The shares are up 45 per cent in the past six months, though are not back to their pre-invasion high.
The task of unpicking the alliance is complicated by Renault’s multiple stakeholders, including the French state. But Renault may be able to announce the bones of an agreement at its November 8 capital markets day.
The balance of power between the two companies has shifted since Renault bought its stake in a near-bankrupt Nissan at the turn of the century. Renault needs support for its restructuring plan, giving Nissan stronger bargaining chips. The mutual desire for change has opened up a potential way forward.