AC Milan-owner RedBird Capital pitches PREM Rugby investment

The sports and media investment group which owns the Italian football giants AC Milan has begun exploring a deal to become a major backer of English domestic professional rugby.

Sky News has learnt that RedBird Capital Partners is in preliminary discussions with stakeholders including CVC Capital Partners, the majority-owner of Global Sport Group (GSG), which is the single-biggest shareholder in Premiership Rugby Limited (PRL).

The shape of a potential deal is still at a very early stage, according to insiders, and could result in RedBird becoming an investor in the competition itself or in a number of PREM Rugby clubs - or a combination of both.

Sources close to the situation cautioned that the discussions were at such an early stage that it was possible that no firm deal would materialise.

One described the discussions at this stage as "informal", with any multi-club investment being subject to a blanket size threshold.

RedBird's interest in PREM Rugby has emerged just weeks after the sport's power-brokers in England convened a gathering of current and prospective commercial partners, sponsors, broadcasters and investors to pitch rugby union's commercial opportunities to them.

RedBird Capital is understood to have been among the attendees at that event, with PRL officials now engaged in efforts to 'match' clubs with prospective investors.

The game's impending switch to a US-style franchise system - which will scrap relegation from the top flight in a bid to usher in a new era of financial sustainability - was announced earlier this year, representing, it said, "a new expansion model [which] will create investable, globally competitive leagues while expanding rugby's fanbase, widening its geographic footprint and delivering tangible benefits to the women's game and community rugby across England".

In recent months, the prospect of that shift has begun to be reflected in a number of club investments, with Sir James Dyson - founder of the eponymous consumer goods empire - acquiring a 50% stake in Bath Rugby and Bill Foley, the owner of AFC Bournemouth, buying a controlling stake in the Exeter Chiefs.

Newcastle Falcons are now owned by Red Bull, while clubs including Leicester Tigers, Gloucester Rugby and Northampton Saints have all been tipped to seek new external investors.

Simon Massie-Taylor, the PRL chief executive, told the gathering in June of a renewed optimism about rugby union's future in England after a dark period in which several leading clubs - including Wasps and London Irish - went bust.

He highlighted a new focus on player marketing to increase fan engagement, and the creation of a new executive team - to be called the Club Office - in order to support aspiring clubs and prospective investors to improve standards across the league and teams.

People who attended said he also reinforced the competition's efforts to strengthen governance, create greater league stability and to secure longer-term media and commercial partnerships.

Last season's Gallagher PREM Final was won in June by Northampton Saints, who beat Exeter 26-17 at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.

The forthcoming campaign, which will begin in late September, will feature ten teams, with the aim of expanding that to 12 by the end of the decade.

Executives have floated the ambition of increasing that to 20 teams by 2040.

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Several aspects of a potential investment by RedBird Capital into PREM Rugby remain unclear, including the precise structure and valuation attached to a league investment.

It is also yet to be established whether any money injected by RedBird would simply be used to buy shares owned by other investors or would be injected into the sport itself.

A 27% stake in PRL is owned by GSG, with the remaining equity held by the league's clubs.

RedBird Capital was founded by former Goldman Sachs banker Gerry Cardinale in 2014, and owns stakes in AC Milan, Formula One team Alpine Racing, the television producer Banijay Entertainment, which merged with All3Media earlier this year, and Paramount Skydance, which is in the process of acquiring Warner Bros Discovery for about $110bn.

RedBird Capital is also a minority investor in Fenway Sports Group, which last week confirmed a Sky News report that it was selling a large stake to a consortium including the founders of Amazon and Facebook.

This weekend, RedBird Capital Partners, PREM Rugby, CVC and GSG all declined to comment.

(c) Sky News 2026: AC Milan-owner RedBird Capital pitches PREM Rugby investment