![Mark Attanasio Jean-Marc Chapus Benfica Stake Crescent](https://www.sportico.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-1343887621-e1717773658143.jpg?w=1280&h=721&crop=1)
Crescent Capital managing partners Mark Attanasio and Jean-Marc Chapus are in talks to acquire about 25% of Portuguese soccer club SL Benfica, according to someone familiar with the talks.
The most valuable soccer team in Portugal, Benfica is publicly traded in Lisbon as Sport Lisboa e Benfica Futebol SAD (or Benfica SAD). Chapus and Attanasio are in negotiations to buy the stake from a private shareholder, said the person, who was granted anonymity because the talks are ongoing.
They would be investing personally, not via Crescent Capital, the person said. The deal is for the soccer team only, not the other Benfica clubs that compete in sports like basketball, volleyball and handball.
Financial specifics weren’t shared. A representatives for Chapus and Attanasio, who also owns MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers, declined immediate comment. A representative for the club didn’t immediately respond to questions.
Sportico recently valued Benfica at $675 million, making it the 35th-most valuable soccer team in the world. It’s on the list right below England’s Newcastle ($700 million), Italy’s Napoli ($690 million) and the U.S.’s Philadelphia Union ($685 million).
The publicly traded entity reported about $215 million in revenue (195 million Euros) in fiscal 2023, up from about $172 million (169 million Euros) the previous year. It reported about $614 million (558 million Euros) in assets and about $184 million (167 million Euros) in total debt.
Benfica has won a record 38 Primeira Liga titles, eight more than rival Porto, and finished secon another 30 times. The club won the European Cup, now the UEFA Champions League, in 1960-61 and 1961-62. Benfica plays in 65,000-seat Estádio da Luz, by far the largest soccer stadium in Portugal. The club runs a successful academy that allows it to sell players to large European sides, and its standing within Portugal’s top league protects it from relegation and leads to consistent berths in the UEFA Champions League, the world’s biggest club tournament.
Attanasio and Chapus wouldn’t be the first American investors to seek a significant Benfica stake. In July 2021, the club announced that American John Textor, a notable soccer investor, had reached an agreement to buy 25% of the team from local shareholder José António dos Santos. He had agreed to pay about $59 million (50 million Euros) for dos Santos’ Benfica SAD shares, but that deal fell apart before it could close.
Attanasio and Chapus founded Crescent Capital Corp. in 1991. The group was acquired by Trust Company of the West (TCW) in 1995 and rebranded as TCW’s Leveraged Finance Group. In 2011, they spun the investment team out of TCW and launched Crescent Capital Group. The firm now has more than $40 billion under management.
Attanasio bought the Brewers in 2005 in a deal that valued the club at $223 million. It’s now worth $1.6 billion, according to Sportico’s numbers. He’s chairman of MLB’s investment committee, according to his Crescent Capital bio.
With assistance from Kurt Badenhausen and Asli Pelit.