£6 million worth of new shares issued

[Cinio Dydd Sul]

Yep

https://www.sportico.com/leagues/soccer/2022/dc-united-valued-800-million-minority-stake-sale-1234689723/

Sounds familiar

"The new round of investment covers up to 5% of the franchise, according to multiple people familiar with the deal who were granted anonymity because the matter is private. The identities of the investors aren’t known."

Can someone explain to me in layman's terms why they are worth so much? 20,000 capacity stadium, poor league position, no real saleable players. USA where football is the 4th/5th most popular sport. Why is this team valued so highly? Or why have people decided to invest in them at such a high price point then? They've been poor for years and don't seem to have grown even with Rooney etc associated.

 

[SomeRandomJack]

Can someone explain to me in layman's terms why they are worth so much? 20,000 capacity stadium, poor league position, no real saleable players. USA where football is the 4th/5th most popular sport. Why is this team valued so highly? Or why have people decided to invest in them at such a high price point then? They've been poor for years and don't seem to have grown even with Rooney etc associated.

its quite simple, football/soccer may still be less popular than other sports there but its fanbase is growing rapidly and only a matter of time before it starts rivalling the popularity of the biggest sports, so more fans equates to more advertising potential, which equates to more $ income. add to that they dont have relegation so its a far safer bet than owning a team here or europe.

 

[3swan]

As Lisa said, it is of no matter any longer.

The trust is done. they have given away everything with their stupidity.

My question is more about any potential investors (could be a backdoor takeover?) in time of course.

As far as the Trust share etc it is meaningless.

 

[Dr. Winston]

Can someone explain to me in layman's terms why they are worth so much? 20,000 capacity stadium, poor league position, no real saleable players. USA where football is the 4th/5th most popular sport. Why is this team valued so highly? Or why have people decided to invest in them at such a high price point then? They've been poor for years and don't seem to have grown even with Rooney etc associated.

The stadium size won't bother them at all since most basketball and ice hockey teams play in similar sized arenas. US sports tend to make far more money in commercial and TV income than they do in ticket sales.

 

[jasper_T]

Can someone explain to me in layman's terms why they are worth so much? 20,000 capacity stadium, poor league position, no real saleable players. USA where football is the 4th/5th most popular sport. Why is this team valued so highly? Or why have people decided to invest in them at such a high price point then? They've been poor for years and don't seem to have grown even with Rooney etc associated.

They're a franchise of a central organisation that has salary controls and no relegation (poor league position literally doesn't matter). It's a much more stable business model than football anywhere else in the world, so they can pitch sky high valuations and get investors to buy in. Unlike the Championship you can run sustainably/make a profit at no risk to future earnings.

Most of the share value is speculative rather than reflective of practical ability to make money, though.

 

[Cinio Dydd Sul]

Thanks for the responses, ironic this is the case with them being at one of their lowest ebbs in their history on the pitch. Is DC even a hotbed for football that you'd think the more Hispanic dominated areas farther south are?

Or is a lot of this gambling on an as yet largely unfulfilled football explosion that they're hoping will happen in conjunction with the next world cup?