Watford FC, a Premier League football (soccer) team, is selling shares to investors on Republic and Seedrs.
Republic is the largest investment crowdfunding platform in the world. Its acquisition of UK-based Seedrs cemented its top position. The relationship between the two platforms has fostered a unique opportunity to list securities in the US, the UK, and Europe.
In a blog post, Watford explained:
“In common with many other clubs, we have been exploring opportunities to bring investment into the club as we look to grow the club further and bolster revenue streams which, in turn, allow us to strengthen the playing squads.
Having looked at a number of options, we have decided to take the exciting and innovative step of becoming one of the first major English clubs to offer true ownership to fans and investors alike.”
Watford said it was selling an approximate 10% equity stake in the team valued at £17.5 million (or a pre-money valuation of £175 million). Last year, Watford generated a pre-tax profit of £24.1 million.
The price per share for investors is £12.44 with a minimum of four shares (£49.76 ) via Seedrs and eight shares (£99.52) for investors through Republic. Once the shares have been purchased, there is a lock-up period of 12 months before trading is allowed.
The offering is currently accepting reservations (or priority access) for shares on both Republic and Seedrs. Republic’s broker-dealer will enable the sale on Republic under Reg D, 506c. Currently, the rules dictate that only accredited investors may participate in this offering in the US. In the UK, there is not a similar restriction.
The Republic offering page indicates over $80,000 in reservations as of this writing. The Republic offering also includes the option of receiving certain “perks” like priority access to match tickets.
Republic founder and CEO Ken Nguyen distributed an email explaining there is a movement for enabling access to “real world assets” typically unavailable to smaller investors.
“We’re even seeing major institutional players like JP Morgan, Blackrock, and Goldman Sachs get involved. Today, here at Republic, we are taking another huge step in that direction. About a year ago, I challenged the team to make investing in sports teams, something people really love, more accessible,” says Nguyen.
Watford FC was founded in 1881 and holds a mixed bag of performance having been relegated recently to the Championship league. In 2023, the team returned to the Premier League.
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