​Exeter Chiefs have become American-owned after being acquired by a U.S. investment firm, with Black Knight Rugby, a new subsidiary of Cannae Holdings, completing a full 100% purchase of the club, Exeter announced on Tuesday. The Chiefs, who were European champions in 2020 and English champions in 2017 and 2020, join a growing list of sports properties owned by Cannae Holdings, led by Bill Foley, that already includes Premier League club Bournemouth, as well as soccer teams Lorient (France), Moreirense FC (Portugal), and Auckland FC (New Zealand), and the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL. Bournemouth finished sixth in the Premier League last season and qualified for European competition for the first time.
Foley said the group has a proven track record of building successful sports and entertainment brands, including Black Knight Football’s network of clubs, and that Exeter would benefit from applying the same approach. Exeter’s members voted in May to approve the sale, and weeks earlier, Cornwall-based Cornish Pirates, who play in the English rugby second tier, announced a deal with Stonewood Capital Management of Pittsburgh. They are believed to be the first U.S. investments in English professional rugby.
There is already significant U.S. investment in English soccer, with clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool owned by American investors, and Wrexham co-owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. U.S. investors have also taken stakes in England’s newer cricket competition, The Hundred, in the past year. Some observers see English rugby as potentially more attractive now, following February’s decision to drop automatic promotion and relegation between the top two tiers in favor of a criteria-based expansion and demotion model, a change English rugby leaders said would improve financial sustainability and encourage long-term investment. Exeter had recently lost to Northampton Saints in the Premiership playoff final, the top league’s final game, this month.