Black Knight Football and Entertainment, a partnership between Cannae Holdings and US businessman William P Foley II, has acquired AFC Bournemouth from Maxim Demin.
The Foley-led BKFE plans to upgrade Bournemouth’s current facilities by immediately beginning construction on a state-of-the-art training centre and eventually improving or redeveloping Bournemouth’s home ground, Vitality Stadium.
The partnership is dedicated to enhancing the quality of Bournemouth’s competitive position and on-field performance, as well as improving the commercial and business operations of the club.
Foley and Cannae will provide capital, management experience and best practices to enhance the club’s player development operations and expand Bournemouth’s merchandising, sponsorship and digital strategy, which will ultimately improve the club’s competitive positioning and value.
The minority ownership group is led by actor, director and producer Michael B Jordan and music entrepreneur Nullah Sarker, who will work closely with Foley in areas including global marketing and internationalisation of the club.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cannae will be a limited partner with 50.1% ownership of the partnership. All requisite approvals have been obtained from the Premier League.
Bournemouth represents BKFE’s first acquisition and will be at the centre of the partnership’s broader strategy to build a global, multi-club portfolio of leading football assets.
As part of this strategy, BKFE will look to selectively acquire additional football clubs in various leagues and locations with proven player development systems, deep pools of local talent and other strategic advantages that will complement AFC Bournemouth and strengthen BKFE’s portfolio and global reach.
BKFE intends to build a global network of world-class football players, clubs and real estate assets that will produce operational synergies, accelerate player development, enable efficient player migration across BKFE’s network of owned and operated clubs, and drive strong on-field and financial results.
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