San Jose Earthquakes owner John Fisher has hired an investment bank to sell his MLS club, according to multiple people familiar with the billionaire’s plans. An official announcement is expected sometime on Wednesday.
Fisher, who owns and recently relocated MLB’s Athletics from Oakland, has retained Moelis & Co. to run the process. The move comes nearly four years after Fisher hired Moelis to explore selling minority shares of his soccer club. Fisher intends to sell a control interest in the Earthquakes this time, according to a source, who was given anonymity because the matter is private.
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Moelis, San Jose and MLS declined to comment.
In January, the Earthquakes ranked 20th in Sportico’s MLS team valuations at $600 million. Fisher paid a $20 million expansion fee for the team in 2007. The Earthquakes play in a soccer-specific stadium, PayPal Park, which is also home to the NWSL’s Bay FC. Last year’s attendance was the third-lowest in the league, and revenue also ranked near the bottom. Yet, the Bay Area’s demographics and deep roster of billionaires push up the value of the club.
It had been more than three years since an MLS control stake was sold, before Gail Miller reached an agreement in April to buy Real Salt Lake and NWSL’s Utah Royals for nearly $600 million. Miller purchased RSL from the David Blitzer-led group that paid nearly $400 million for the club in January 2022, which had been the prior MLS sale.
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The Vancouver Whitecaps are also on the market. Last December, the MLS franchise majority owned by Greg Kerfoot hired Goldman Sachs to facilitate a sale.
MLS is facing an inflection point in several ways, with a critical 24 months ahead. A World Cup bump has long been priced into MLS team values, and it now needs to deliver on the opportunity by converting more casual sports fans to the league. MLS is also weighing shifting its playing schedule to match the FIFA soccer calendar. And top of mind for many teams is how to unlock more value from the league’s media partnership with Apple.
Fisher has the Earthquakes on the market as he transitions his MLB team from Oakland to Las Vegas. The Athletics are playing this season at Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park, the home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. The Athletics are expected to spend at least two more seasons in the California capital before the opening of their new $1.75 billion home in Vegas.
Fisher owns more than 95% of the Athletics and hired Galatioto Sports Partners to help sell LP stakes to raise more than $500 million to go towards ballpark construction. Clark County is contributing $350 million of the cost.
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Fisher is worth $3 billion, according to Forbes.
Last season, the Earthquakes finished in last place in the Western Conference but sit eighth among 15 teams halfway through this season.
(This story has been updated in the third paragraph to reference MLS declining to comment.)
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