The Buffalo Bills of the NFL, which beat the Denver Broncos handily 31-7 on Sunday, are welcoming new minority owners to the team. No details were released on ownership stakes and overall team valuation.
The Buffalo Bills and majority owner Terry Pegula confirmed the addition of 10 limited partners to the ownership group. The non-controlling, minority interests were approved last month at the NFL meetings in Dallas, TX. This represents the first time in franchise history that minority owners have been added.
The new limited partners, pending final closing of the agreements, include:
- Arctos, a private investment firm that provides bespoke growth and liquidity solutions, differentiated thought partnership and value creation services to sports franchises
- Rob Palumbo, Co-managing partner of Accel-KKR, technology-focused private equity firm
- Sue McCollum, CEO and owner of beverage distribution companies Eagle Brand Sales and Double Eagle Distributing
- Theresia Gouw, Co-founder and managing partner of the venture capital firm Acrew Capital
- Rob Ward, Co-founder, general partner of venture capital firm Meritech Capital
- Mike Joo, COO, Global Corporate & Investment Banking and Head of North America Corporate & Investment Banking at Bank of America
- Tom Burger, Co-founder and managing partner of the investment firm Gridiron Capital
- Vince Carter, Former NBA player; member of Basketball Hall of Fame
- Tracy McGrady, Former NBA player; member of Basketball Hall of Fame
- Jozy Altidore, Former US National Team Soccer Player and MLS Champion
The team has added a diverse array of limited partners spanning the world of business, sports and entertainment. The group includes many with deep personal ties to the Buffalo Bills as well as connections to key geographic areas for the organization.
The Bills partnership with Arctos, marks one of the first-ever private equity investments in a National Football League franchise. Arctos is the only firm approved to invest in equity across each of the five most popular major North American leagues and currently has investments in professional sports teams in the NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, NASCAR, the English Premier League and Formula One.
Founded in 2019, Arctos’ proprietary approach to sports investing is anchored by its operational expertise, including a roster of experienced advisors, as well as the firm’s unique quantitative research and data science platform, Arctos Insights.
“This has been an incredible journey to add such an impressive and diverse group of limited partners along with a reputable private equity partner in Arctos that has an extensive track record of success with professional sports franchises,” said Bills Owner/CEO Terry Pegula.
“They all have all achieved high levels of success in their respective industries and we’re grateful for their interest in our team, our sport, and the future of the Buffalo Bills. Most of them have a personal attachment with our team, Western New York or Southern Ontario which was a very important factor to me.”