The owners of Austin FC are exploring a minority stake sale, according to multiple people familiar with the details.
The club has retained Inner Circle Sports to assist with the process, said the people, who were granted anonymity because the matter is private. The MLS club’s majority owner, Anthony Precourt, is not looking to sell his control stake, the sources said. Austin FC would use the proceeds to pay down debt and for growth initiatives at the club.
It’s unclear exactly whose equity is on the market, and there’s no guarantee that a transaction takes place. Representatives for Austin FC and Inner Circle Sports both declined to comment.
Sportico values the club at $800 million, which is calculated as the price at which a control stake would likely sell. In most major U.S. leagues, minority sales typically trade at a lower valuation. In MLS, however, teams have consistently raised LP money at a premium.
The last control stake to sell in MLS, outside of expansion, was Real Salt Lake in January 2022. Since then, every other major U.S. league has had at least one team trade hands.
Austin FC is owned by Two Oak Ventures, which is led by Precourt, who previously owned the Columbus Crew. The team made its MLS debut in April 2021 and two months later opened its privately financed $260 million stadium. Austin FC had $90 million in revenue in 2023, fifth-most in the league, according to Sportico’s calculations. It is one of the few MLS teams that has consistently turned a profit over the last few seasons.
The club’s LP ranks include actor Matthew McConaughey, Pixiu Investments CEO Eduardo Margain, BayPine Capital founding partner Marius Haas, Parsley Energy founder Bryan Sheffield and ColinaWest Real Estate Company managing partner David Kahn.
The Austin FC move comes at an important moment for MLS. The league is in year two of an exclusive 10-year partnership with Apple, still hoping to capitalize on the presence of Lionel Messi, and looking forward to the 2026 men’s World Cup in North America, which many hopeful investors have pointed to as a potential inflection point for soccer in the U.S. There are minority stakes in many different franchises on the market—some in serious sale processes, others being shopped around more casually.
(This story has been updated in the second paragraph to add context to the club’s potential uses of new capital.)