👉 Background: Andrew Twiggy Forrest and his wife started Fortescue Metals back in 2003, which has a market cap of $53 billion.

👉 What happened: More recently, he’s been looking to invest in a whole range of Australian companies. He already owns RM WIlliams, a large chunk of Bega Cheese and BWX. He's also been sniffing around David Jones.

👉 What else: And now, Twiggy's investment arm, Tattarang, is reportedly looking to buy a slice of Rugby Australia (the governing body of rugby union in Australia). And it’s just another example of professional investors embracing major sporting codes.

What's the key learning?

💡 In recent years, private equity firms and professional investors have been creeping their way into sport ownership - making sport another asset class for investment.

💡Private investors love owning sporting teams and sporting leagues because they consistently attract a strong, worldwide audience.

• The A-League sold a $130m stake to US private equity firm Silver Lake
• Six Nations, Europe’s top annual national rugby tournament sold a staketo CVC private equity
• AC Milan soccer club was sold to Red Bird Capital for €1.2bn

💡 But with more private investors building ownership stakes across sporting bodies, it does run the risk of reshaping the clubs and sport. After all, investors are looking for a financial return on their investments.

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