Giants' sale of minority stake to Koch family approved by NFL owners
Julia Koch attends The School Of American Ballet's Winter Ball at David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on March 6, 2017 in New York City. Credit: Getty Images/Neilson Barnard
NFL owners on Wednesday approved the sale of a minority non-controlling interest in the Giants to Julia Koch and her family, the team and league announced.
The Giants had been shopping up to 10% of the franchise since early this year, and Koch secured that 10% with an offer of more than $1 billion, Bloomberg first reported in early September.
The deal gave the franchise a valuation of more than $10 billion.
The Mara and Tisch families now will each own 45% of the team and continue to share control, with the leadership structure remaining intact with John Mara as president and CEO and Steve Tisch as executive vice president and chairman.
Mara and Tisch both attended the league’s fall meetings at a midtown Manhattan hotel on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tisch declined to speak to reporters as he left. Mara announced on Sept. 29 that he is being treated for cancer.
“It was clear during our discussions that Julia and her family understood the importance of this franchise to the Mara and Tisch families and the relationship we have with our fans and community,” Mara said in a news release. “Our discussions were productive, and we are pleased to have them as a part of the New York Giants.”
The Koch family also has minority interests in the Nets and Liberty through a 15% stake in BSE Global, parent company of the teams and the Barclays Center.
“My family and I are honored to join the Giants organization, a storied franchise with deep roots in New York,” Julia Koch said in a news release. “We look forward to supporting the Mara and Tisch families to advance the team’s continued success and appreciate the partnership with two great families.”
Koch and her three children are based in New York. She is the widow of multibillionaire businessman David Koch, who died in 2019.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed the sale in a news conference after the meetings.
The league also announced the Pro Bowl flag football competition would move to the Tuesday of Super Bowl week and will be held indoors at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. Super Bowl LX will be held in Santa Clara, California, on Feb. 8.
Goodell was asked about the hiring of the performer Bad Bunny to headline the Super Bowl halftime show, a move that has been criticized in some quarters.
He said the league has had no second thoughts. “He’s one of the most popular entertainers in the world,” Goodell said.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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