The New York Yankees are teaming up with U.S. private equity group RedBird Capital Partners to become minority investors in Italian soccer club AC Milan.
The Financial Times reports Yankee Global Enterprises, the MLB team’s parent company, and Los Angeles-based investment firm Main Street Advisors—which includes LeBron James and Drake among its group of investors—are closing in on a deal to purchase the reigning Serie A champions for just over $1.2 billion.
The deal will make LeBron and Drake passive investors in Milan through Main Street Advisors, while not owning a direct stake in the soccer club.
“We’re very confident that the Yankee brand is the most famous sports brand in the world, and we think we can help boost the revenue of AC Milan by being associated with it,” Yankees president Randy Levine said Tuesday.
The news arrives two months after RedBird, which also has a stake in Fenway Sports Group, the owner of English Premier League club Liverpool, acquired AC Milan from Elliot Advisors.
It’s not the first time LeBron has invested in a legendary sports franchise. James, who in June became the first active NBA player to reach billionaire status, already owns ownership stakes in the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Liverpool Football Club.
Most recently, in March 2021, LeBron and business partner Maverick Carter joined Fenway Sports Group as partners making them part-owners of the Boston Red Sox.
The AC Milan move marks the second time in the past year that LeBron and Drake joined forces for a massive business deal. Last November, the pair invested in StatusPRO, a sports technology company that experts project will be a leader of an industry projected to be worth $57 billion by 2027.