CEO Jed York acknowledged this week that his family could sell some of its 97 percent ownership stake in the 49ers.
In February, Bloomberg reported the Yorks could sell a stake in the franchise to private equity or other potential buyers.
Ten percent or more of the 49ers could be sold, a league source told NBC Sports Bay Area, and it could be presented to NFL ownership for approval as early as the league’s spring meeting in May.
“We get approached probably on a weekly basis (by) somebody that’s interested,” York said this week at the NFL Annual Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida.
NFL owners voted in August to approve a measure that allows private equity funds to buy limited stakes in franchises. In September, the 49ers ranked sixth in the NFL with a valuation of $7.4 billion, according to a CNBC calculation that accounts for each team’s revenue, profit and debt.
“It’s one of those things where if there’s an opportunity that makes sense, we would always explore that,” York said. “But I’m not sure what we’re going to end up doing. And if we do, we’d try to find the right people that would help bolster everything that we’re doing in and around the team, on the field, off the field, and just make sure we had good partners that were with us.”
York, 44, purchased enough equity from his parents, Denise DeBartolo York and John York, to become the principal owner of the franchise last March. He said the move was made in order to ensure the franchise remains in the family “for generations to come.”
York said any sale of a stake in the team would be done as a family. His parents remain as co-chairs of the 49ers. Jed York is the eldest of four siblings. His twin sisters, Jenna and Mara, own and operate a winery in Napa Valley. His brother Tony passed away at the age of 35 in 2018. Jed York and his wife, Danielle, have 12- and 9-year-old sons.
“It’s more of a family conversation,” York said. “My family owns 97 percent of the 49ers. It’s a big asset, and you have different family members that have different things they want to do in the team, around the team, outside the team. And it’s a family asset allocation decision.”
The investment arm of the organization, 49ers Enterprises, also is expected to add Scottish soccer club Rangers to its portfolio in the near future. York said nothing has been finalized.
In July 2023, 49ers Enterprises took over full ownership of English soccer club Leeds United.
York said the finances of the 49ers and their soccer interests are independent of each other.
“They’re completely separate from the 49ers,” York said. “Where we can tie brands together, and sort of take our best practices of operating and things like that. But in terms of financials, they don’t overlap at all.”
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