SailGP Reaches Full Private Team Ownership as MSP Sports Capital Acquires New Zealand’s Black Foils.
SailGP announced Friday that MSP Sports Capital has acquired a majority stake in the New Zealand SailGP Team – completing a landmark milestone for the Rolex SailGP Championship, as all 13 national teams are now owned by strategic third party partners.
Burling and Tuke, three-time Olympic medalists and multiple America’s Cup winners, will remain as co-CEOs of the Black Foils
The acquisition of the Black Foils – led by Olympic champions Peter Burling and Blair Tuke – marks MSP’s entry into SailGP, adding the New Zealand SailGP Team to a global sports portfolio that includes or has included the X Games League, McLaren Racing and Everton FC.
A global private equity firm in the sports ecosystem, MSP was founded by veteran investor-operators Jahm Najafi and Jeff Moorad, whose expertise spans the world’s largest sports leagues, including MLB, NBA, NFL, F1 and European football.
SailGP Co-Founder and CEO Sir Russell Coutts said, “This is a very significant milestone for SailGP – and one we set out to reach from the very beginning.”
“The goal of SailGP has always been to build something that world-class investors and sports operators would want to own – to have MSP Sports Capital, led by Jahm Najafi and Jeff Moorad, join our ownership group is further validation of that vision.”
The Black Foils return with their new F50 to the start line at this weekend’s Canada Sail Grand Prix Halifax (June 20-21).