Apex is stepping squarely into the European sports ownership game, launching a €300m private equity fund to take minority stakes in mid-market teams and leagues across the continent.
The vehicle targets 20-49% holdings in sports properties valued between EUR 50m and EUR 500m, positioning Apex as an active governance partner rather than a passive financial investor. Individual tickets will range from USD 10m to USD 50m, with the firm aiming to complete 10-20 deals over a 10-year investment period.
From venture bets to asset ownership
The new fund marks a decisive shift for Apex from its current USD 60m of venture-style assets into mainstream sports asset ownership. Instead of backing early-stage sports tech or adjacent plays, Apex is now focused on cashflow-positive clubs and leagues that sit below the radar of mega-funds.
Roughly 70% of the fund is earmarked for these strategic minority positions, giving Apex board-level influence on commercial and operational decisions while avoiding the political and regulatory complexity that often comes with full control transactions in marquee leagues.
The sweet spot is clear: smaller and mid-size European sports properties that are too big for local high-net-worth investors, but too small or too complex for global private equity giants. Enterprise values of EUR 50m–500m place the strategy squarely in the mid-market band that MidMarketNow tracks.
Riding the private equity wave into sport
Apex’s move comes as private equity capital continues to flow into sports globally. In the first three quarters of 2025 alone, sports-related PE deals reached around USD 6bn, drawing heavyweight managers such as Apollo Global Management and Ares Management deeper into the asset class.
Where those firms have largely targeted top-tier leagues, media rights platforms and larger franchises, Apex is deliberately fishing one tier down: smaller clubs, secondary leagues and niche properties with underdeveloped commercial operations but identifiable fan bases and media potential.
The firm’s thesis is that this mid-market segment offers a combination of:
- Lower regulatory friction than flagship leagues and national federations
- More attractive entry valuations, as assets are often family- or community-owned
- Higher return potential, with Apex targeting >20% annualised returns through operational uplift and multiple expansion
Value creation playbook: professionalise and sell up
Apex plans to professionalise the commercial and business operations of its portfolio assets to unlock value. That includes modernising sponsorship and hospitality sales, digital and data monetisation, ticketing and fan engagement, and broader corporate governance.
By taking 20-49% stakes, the fund can push for governance improvements without triggering full regulatory scrutiny that often attaches to outright takeovers of prominent clubs. The aim is to turn under-managed sports brands into institutional-grade assets that can later be sold to larger global buyers – including the very firms now building multi-club and multi-league platforms.
Previous investments such as Alpine F1 and Venezia FC illustrate the model: deploy sector expertise on the business side, improve commercial structures and brand positioning, then crystallise value as bigger pools of capital move in.
A dedicated mid-market sports capital provider
For European clubs and leagues in the EUR 50m–500m valuation band, Apex’s new fund effectively creates a dedicated mid-market capital provider willing to take significant, but not controlling, equity positions.
That is a notable development for organisations that need capital to upgrade stadiums, invest in digital infrastructure or strengthen balance sheets, but are reluctant—or politically unable—to sell control. Minority deals in this size range have historically been patchy, often depending on local investors rather than specialised financial sponsors.
By explicitly targeting 10-20 deals over a decade and concentrating most of its capital in active minority positions, Apex is institutionalising this niche. If the firm delivers on its >20% return ambitions, the strategy is likely to deepen private equity interest in Europe’s mid-tier sports ecosystem and push more assets into the EUR 50m–500m deal corridor.
For now, the fund size is modest compared with the multi-billion platforms built by Apollo or Ares. But at €300m, focused squarely on European mid-market sports, Apex is set to become a visible player in a segment that has lacked specialised, professional capital.