Austin FC recently added five new minority owners, all local businesspeople, in a series of transactions that assigned the MLS club an enterprise value of more than $900 million, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
The new investors are Jenny Just and Matt Hulsizer, the co-founders of PEAK6 Investments and prior backers of a few European soccer teams; billionaire Tench Coxe, an Nvidia board member; Magnetar Capital managing partner Dave Snyderman; and Tanuj Gulati, co-founder and former CTO of Securonix.
While it’s unclear exactly who sold the equity, or how much was purchased, all seven of Austin FC’s prior backers remain owners in some capacity, said the sources, who were granted anonymity because the details are private. Anthony Precourt will remain the club’s primary governor and its majority shareholder via Precourt Sports Ventures. Hulsizer will become the team’s alternate governor, a role held by Eduardo Margain since 2019.
The deals have already received MLS approval and have closed, the sources said. Representatives for Austin FC and Inner Circle Sports, which was retained last year to help run the process, declined to comment.
The five new backers are all coming into Two Oak Ventures, which owns the MLS team and operates its academy, its MLS Next Pro franchise and Q2 Stadium. Two Oak privately funded the $260 million venue, which opened in 2021, but it is owned by the city. Q2 Stadium will host the MLS All-Star Game later this month.
Historically, minority stakes in major U.S. sports teams have sold at a discount to the control stake, but MLS has seen a lot of the opposite in recent years. Sportico’s MLS valuations, which are calculated as the price a control stake might sell for, put Austin FC at $865 million. That ranks No. 6 in the league. Club revenue in 2024 was estimated at $96 million, which ranked fifth.
MLS has seen a steady stream of LP sales over the past few years. Earlier this month Haslam Sports Group sold a 10% stake in the Columbus Crew at a $900 million valuation. For reference, Sportico’s valuation for the Crew is $730 million.
Covington & Burling served as legal advisor to Austin FC in the transactions. Sidley served as advisor to Just and Hulsizer.
Austin FC is the only major pro sports team in the Texas capital, which has seen its population grow by roughly 40% in the last 25 years, according to census data. (The University of Texas at Austin is also located in town.) The club has sold out 81 straight home games, the longest active sellout streak in the league.
Should MLS flip its calendar to match the sport’s biggest leagues, as has been discussed, Austin FC could further benefit. That would move games from the middle of the Texas summer to the winter, when temperatures are cooler.
Just and Hulsizer, who are married, started PEAK6 in 1997. They’ve previously invested in English soccer club AFC Bournemouth, English soccer club Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Irish side Dundalk FC. Hulsizer also previously invested in the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. Coxe, who has served on the Nvidia board since 1993 and is the company’s third largest individual shareholder, is worth $7.3 billion, according to Forbes.
Austin FC is 7-8-6 this season, in ninth place in the Western Conference.
(This story has been updated in the 8th paragraph with information on the advisors for the transactions.)