The owners of Premier League newcomer Sheffield United have told would-be purchasers they want £170 million ($221 million) for the team, according to people familiar with the sale talks.
Owned by former sports minister Saudi Prince Abdullah bin Musaid Al Saud, Sheffield United recently won automatic promotion to the Premier League after a second-place finish in the Championship. The club is expected to now receive a boost to broadcast income, potentially easing some of its financial concerns. It spent a significant part of last season under a player transfer ban for failing to pay installments on previously purchased players.
The deal — if successful — would mark a rare sale by a Saudi-linked owner. The country’s sovereign wealth fund has been on a spending spree in the sports industry, striking deals in golf and domestic football. The Public Investment Authority already owns a major stake in rival Newcastle United.
An investor presentation from May 2023, marked as strictly confidential but seen by Bloomberg, claims that Sheffield United’s 25-man first team squad has a combined market value of £125 million. The club declined to comment.
The proposed valuation is higher than the £120 million received by a group including American billionaire Bill Foley for AFC Bournemouth last year. Sheffield United’s stadium has a capacity of about 32,000 compared to just over 11,000 at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium, meaning potential match-day revenues are higher.
Sheffield United was previously in talks with Nigerian businessman Dozy Mmobuosi, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tingo Group Inc., an agri-tech business that was recently described by short seller Hindenburg Research as an “exceptionally obvious scam with completely fabricated financials.”
Tingo said in a statement that it “categorically refutes all the allegations and misinformation” outlined in Hindenburg’s report.
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