Bill Foley, owner of AFC Bournemouth, is poised to take control of Exeter Chiefs in a multimillion-pound deal that will bring Premier League and Hollywood glamour to English club rugby.
The Guardian revealed this week that Exeterâs chair, Tony Rowe, had agreed to sell the club to a wealthy American investor, and can now disclose the clubâs new owner will be Foleyâs multisport investment company, Black Knight Sports and Entertainment.
The Black Knight Football Club that owns Bournemouth includes the Hollywood actor Michael B Jordan, who won this yearâs best actor Oscar for his role in Sinners, as a minority shareholder.
Foleyâs investment vehicle, Cannae Holdings, provides most of the multi-club groupâs funding, however, and is understood to be behind the bid for Exeter. Cannaeâs chief executive, Ryan Caswell, was captured by TNT Sportâs cameras sitting next to Rowe at Sandy Park during Saturdayâs 35-28 home defeat by Northampton.
It follows months of negotiations, with Exeter having previously been in touch with at least 80 would-be suitors. The 77-year-old Rowe, after more than 30 yearsâ involvement with Exeter, has acknowledged he cannot personally continue to fund the Chiefsâ ambitions. âIâve put in an extraordinary amount of money to keep the club alive but itâs not fair on my family,â he told the Guardian. âThe time has come where weâve got to be very sensible about our futures.â
Rowe also believes English clubs need to âwake up and smell the coffeeâ financially to ensure the successful launch of a mooted franchise league in 2029-30. Red Bull has invested in Newcastle while James Dyson acquired a 50% stake in Bath last month and Northampton have just welcomed a new minority investor in Steve Zander.
The sale of Exeter, a 155-year-old membersâ club, still needs to be formally ratified at an extraordinary general meeting on 7 May. It is understood the support of 75% of the clubâs approximately 700 members, who will be permitted to vote by proxy, is required. Exeterâs trustees are set to meet early next week to be presented with further details.
Foley is estimated to have made more than $2bn (ÂŁ1.47bn) in the insurance industry through Fidelity National Finance before investing in sport over the last decade. After an initial foray into outdoor sports and mountain pursuits, Black Knight was awarded an expansion franchise in the National Hockey League in 2016, with the Vegas Golden Knights entering the competition the following year and winning the hallowed Stanley Cup for the first time in 2023.
The previous year Foley set up Black Knight Football Club and completed the 100% purchase of AFC Bournemouth for ÂŁ100m, the first part of a growing empire. Black Knight have gone on to buy the French club Lorient, New Zealandâs Auckland FC and Moreirense in Portugal, as well as briefly owning 25% of the Scottish club Hibernian, which has since been sold, making them one of the biggest multi-club groups in football.
Bournemouth have been hugely successful under Foleyâs ownership and have comfortably established themselves in the Premier League, despite having one of the smallest budgets in the division and a stadium that holds just 11,000.
Under the Spanish manager Andoni Iraola Bournemouth secured a club-record finish of ninth in the Premier League last season and arenow eighth, with a chance of qualifying for European competition for the first time. Black Knightâs intelligent use of data and shrewd transfer dealings has been instrumental to Bournemouthâs success and they will look to use similar tools when they take over at Exeter.
The Guardian revealed this week that Exeterâs chair, Tony Rowe, had agreed to sell the club to a wealthy American investor, and can now disclose the clubâs new owner will be Foleyâs multisport investment company, Black Knight Sports and Entertainment.
The Black Knight Football Club that owns Bournemouth includes the Hollywood actor Michael B Jordan, who won this yearâs best actor Oscar for his role in Sinners, as a minority shareholder.
Foleyâs investment vehicle, Cannae Holdings, provides most of the multi-club groupâs funding, however, and is understood to be behind the bid for Exeter. Cannaeâs chief executive, Ryan Caswell, was captured by TNT Sportâs cameras sitting next to Rowe at Sandy Park during Saturdayâs 35-28 home defeat by Northampton.
It follows months of negotiations, with Exeter having previously been in touch with at least 80 would-be suitors. The 77-year-old Rowe, after more than 30 yearsâ involvement with Exeter, has acknowledged he cannot personally continue to fund the Chiefsâ ambitions. âIâve put in an extraordinary amount of money to keep the club alive but itâs not fair on my family,â he told the Guardian. âThe time has come where weâve got to be very sensible about our futures.â
Rowe also believes English clubs need to âwake up and smell the coffeeâ financially to ensure the successful launch of a mooted franchise league in 2029-30. Red Bull has invested in Newcastle while James Dyson acquired a 50% stake in Bath last month and Northampton have just welcomed a new minority investor in Steve Zander.
The sale of Exeter, a 155-year-old membersâ club, still needs to be formally ratified at an extraordinary general meeting on 7 May. It is understood the support of 75% of the clubâs approximately 700 members, who will be permitted to vote by proxy, is required. Exeterâs trustees are set to meet early next week to be presented with further details.
Foley is estimated to have made more than $2bn (ÂŁ1.47bn) in the insurance industry through Fidelity National Finance before investing in sport over the last decade. After an initial foray into outdoor sports and mountain pursuits, Black Knight was awarded an expansion franchise in the National Hockey League in 2016, with the Vegas Golden Knights entering the competition the following year and winning the hallowed Stanley Cup for the first time in 2023.
The previous year Foley set up Black Knight Football Club and completed the 100% purchase of AFC Bournemouth for ÂŁ100m, the first part of a growing empire. Black Knight have gone on to buy the French club Lorient, New Zealandâs Auckland FC and Moreirense in Portugal, as well as briefly owning 25% of the Scottish club Hibernian, which has since been sold, making them one of the biggest multi-club groups in football.
Bournemouth have been hugely successful under Foleyâs ownership and have comfortably established themselves in the Premier League, despite having one of the smallest budgets in the division and a stadium that holds just 11,000.
Under the Spanish manager Andoni Iraola Bournemouth secured a club-record finish of ninth in the Premier League last season and arenow eighth, with a chance of qualifying for European competition for the first time. Black Knightâs intelligent use of data and shrewd transfer dealings has been instrumental to Bournemouthâs success and they will look to use similar tools when they take over at Exeter.
