Birmingham Phoenix latest addition to Knighthead Capital folio after sealing an equity sale of worth £40 million.
The first completed deal in the Hundred’s sales process was the £40 million acquisition of Birmingham Phoenix by the American investment fund Knighthead Capital.
The New York-based company Knighthead successfully bid for a 49% part in Birmingham Phoenix in late January after acquiring the bulk of Birmingham City FC two years prior. According to documents submitted to Companies House, the selling transaction was finalised on July 15. The franchise will operate in collaboration with the host county, Warwickshire.
Knighthead co-founder Tom Wagner, along with colleagues Andrew Shannahan and Kyle Kneisly, who are also on the board of Birmingham City FC, has been named as a director on the Phoenix board. Although he will not be a director, the renowned NFL quarterback Tom Brady has a tiny stake in Knighthead.
Knighthead’s acquisition is a part of larger plans to build a new 62,000-seat football stadium as part of Birmingham’s “Sports Quarter.” In addition to successfully lobbying the government for additional transit links, Wagner stated last month that he regarded the Hundred as a chance to demonstrate his dedication to the city.
“We really, genuinely want to see Birmingham continue to develop and grow,” Wagner told the BBC. “The Phoenix is a great way to expand the exposure of the city to a broader, more global audience. It’s also a way for us to tie-in to the substantial south Asian community that is here in Birmingham.”
The Phoenix will be operationally administered by Warwickshire and Knighthead following the Hundred’s 2025 season, which runs from August 5–31. With Mark McCafferty as chair, Stuart Cain as CEO, Craig Flindall as strategy director, and Adam Lowe as commercial director, the county will continue to hold four of the seven board seats as majority owners.
Although it is unclear if all eight will be approved before the 2025 season begins in ten days, a number of other trades are either completed or almost finished. Three of the seven additional new investors, like Knighthead, are headquartered in the United States, while the other four are IPL franchise owners or co-owners.