Qatar sovereign fund boosts its stake in Monumental Sports

The Qatar Investment Authority has increased its stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the owner of U.S. teams including the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, alongside private equity sports investor Arctos Partners.

The QIA and Arctos are purchasing the passive minority shares from Laurene Powell Jobs, the billionaire philanthropist and wife of the late Apple Founder Steve Jobs, at a reported enterprise value of $7.2 billion. While it is not clear how much equity each party is taking, Jobs bought about 20% of Monumental in 2017 and was the group’s second biggest shareholder after founder Ted Leonsis. She reportedly sold some of her holdings in a previous deal.

When the QIA purchased a 5% stake in Monumental in 2023 in a deal that valued the group at $4 billion, it marked the first time a sovereign wealth fund had invested in major U.S. sports teams. Along with the Wizards and Mystics, the group owns the NHL’s Washington Capitals, the G League’s Capital City Go-Go and Monumental Sports Network.

The deal comes as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is reported to have made its first major investment move into padel, a fast-growing sport that has so far been largely bankrolled by the QIA, which owns the primary global padel tour, Premier Padel. PIF-backed sport and entertainment agency 54 has allied with the team-based Hexagon Cup tournament and the International Padel Federation to create a new global team circuit, the Hexagon World Series.

Meanwhile, Manchester City FC, the English Premier League soccer club owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, the UAE Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister, has reported a loss of £9.9 million ($13 million) for 2024-25, after a lackluster season – the first time in eight years it finished without a trophy. 

“There is no doubt that last season’s football results were less than we had hoped for,” Manchester City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, who is also Managing Director and Group CEO of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, said. “Seasons like this are an inevitable part of the game”.