Sidley Austin is among a quartet of firms that advised as Ipswich Town FC changed its majority ownership last week, in a deal that values the club at £350m – the highest valuation for any Championship club in history.
The majority share of Gamechanger 20 Ltd, the club’s parent company, was acquired by Portman Holdings LLC – a group comprised of investments from the Three Lions fund and Clara Vista Partners, alongside previous majority shareholder ORG Portfolio Management.
ORG has managed funds for the Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS) and acted as Ipswich’s majority shareholder since PSPRS first bought the club in 2021.
PSPRS reduced its stake in the club in March 2024, selling a minority stake to US private equity firm Bright Path Sports Partners, which focuses on investing Native American capital into the sports sector.
Three Lions, run by US investors and football club owners Berke Bakay and Brett Johnson, first invested in Ipswich in 2021, and increased its investment in March 2024.
Clara Vista first bought into the club in 2024, and its investment in Portman Holdings comes on top of this original investment. As part of the deal, Clara Vista head Bob Gold will join the board of Gamechanger.
Sidley advised Clara Vista on the deal, with a team led from Los Angeles by M&A and PE partners Daniel Belke and Mark Castiglia, and also including London-based PE partner Adam Runcorn.
In the summer, Sidley advised Premier League side Crystal Palace on the sale of a £190m stake in the club to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, and in October it advised leading Italian club Juventus on a £150m bond issuance.
David Watson, an M&A partner at US firm Thompson Hine, advised ORG on the sale of its majority ownership position, though it will retain a stake in Gamechanger 20.
Andrew Lehrer, a US-based sports attorney who set up Lehrer Law in 2021, advised Three Lions, while LB understands that national law firm Birketts had a role advising Gamechanger 20, with corporate partner Alexandra Nelson leading.
Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, who is a lifelong fan of the club, bought a 1.4% stake in the club through Gamechanger 20 in August 2024. Sheeran is not on the board and the investment is passive, and he retains his current holdings, alongside Bright Path and Three Lions.
Music specialist boutique Bray & Krais, run by Legal 500 music Hall of Famers Richard Bray and Mark Krais, advised Sheeran on the investment.
Ipswich won back-to-back promotions in 2023 and 2024 which took the club from League 1 to the Premier League, before being relegated back down to the Championship last season. At the time of writing Ipswich are fourth in Championship.
