For the first time since joining MLS in 2009, the Seattle Sounders are attempting to raise capital by finding a “large minority owner” who can help finance some of the club’s ambitious projects, which would likely include a new stadium. Sportico was first to announce the news and the Sounders confirmed it in a press release on Thursday.
“I am extremely proud of what Sounders FC represents in our community and the broader North American soccer ecosystem,” Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer said in the team release. “We’ve built a foundation of excellence over the past 51 years, and we believe that now is the right time to seek additional partners who can help us achieve our vision for the next 50 years.”
To help find new investors, the Sounders have enlisted Moelis & Co., the same firm who is currently helping the San Jose Earthquakes find new owners, handled the sale of Angel City FC, and helped the New York Giants raise money on a record $10.5 billion valuation.
At the beginning of the year, the Sounders were valued at $825 million by Sportico. Earlier this week, Austin FC brought in new investors at a $912 million valuation, a roughly 5% increase over what they had been valued at in January. If the Sounders followed the same trajectory, they would likely be worth closer to $860 million now. Hanauer, for instance, likely has well over $300 million of equity and would retain a substantial amount of equity even if his stake is diluted.
Either way, that’s a massive increase over the $30 million expansion fee Hanauer, Joe Roth and Drew Carey paid to bring the Sounders to MLS in 2009. It’s also more than double what the Sounders were worth when Roth sold off his ownership shares in 2019. During that sale, Hanauer and Carey increased their stakes in the club and a host of other families joined the ownership group as well.
The Sportico story notes that the Sounders’ share in the Seattle Reign is not envisioned to be part of the sale and that no individual partner is looking to sell their equity, but that the entire group is diluting their shares.
While there’s no explicit mention of a change in controlling ownership, it stands to reason that it would at least be possible. Combined with whatever stake the Sounders’ owners are willing to offer a new investor, the Allen Estate — which owns 25% of the Sounders — has also been divesting itself of sports properties. While a sale of the Allen stake wouldn’t go into the Sounders coffers, it does create a viable path to a new owner gaining a majority share without having to completely buy out existing owners.
