US investors attracted to Benfica District Project
Groups of fund-led investors have been invited to invest in the Benfica District Project in a deal that was firmed up at the end of April.
Benfica District is a mega-project for real estate and sports infrastructure modernisation promoted and developed by SAD Benfica, the company that manages Benfica Football Club and its assets. The project is budgeted at €220 million.
The project is a transformative urban master plan by Sport Lisboa and Benfica that redefines the area surrounding Estádio da Luz football stadium in Lisbon into a 365-day-a-year sports, culture, and entertainment hub.
Developed by architectural firms Populous and Saraiva + Associados, it is targeted for completion in time for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
On April 27, Portuguese entrepreneur José António dos Santos (better known as the ‘King of Chickens’ because he founded one of the largest poultry groups on the Iberian peninsula) completed the sale of his 16.38% stake in the football club Benfica SAD.
The €45.2 million deal was made with the American fund Entrepreneur Equity Partners.
In May 2025, the investment fund Lenore Sports Partners had already bought 5.24% of Benfica SAD’s capital (part of this total package belonged to Luís Filipe Vieira, the club’s former president), becoming a qualified stakeholder.
With 5.24% of the capital in hand, investor Jean-Marc Chapus, head of Lenore Sports Partners, wanted a larger share and invited a group of investors to buy the shares held by José António dos Santos.
Tim Leiweke, a prominent American sports and entertainment executive, best known as the co-founder and former CEO of the Oak View Group (OVG) with which he is no longer directly associated, was one of the investors invited by Jean-Marc Chapus, a managing partner and cofounder of Crescent Capital Group, a Los Angeles-based debt-focused investment firm with US$43 billion in assets under management, to invest in Benfica, and in conversations between these parties, the Benfica District project was discussed as a sufficiently interesting project to press ahead with the deal.
Tim Leiweke was so enthusiastic about the project that, without Jean-Marc Chapus’s knowledge, he decided to proceed alone with the purchase of José António dos Santos’s shares. The deal was signed at the end of April.
The Oak View Group specialises in developing, managing and operating sports and entertainments venues and arenas. It was also involved with Live Nation in bringing the recent Bad Bunny concert to Portugal.
He is recognised in the business world as an expert in monetising arenas and entertainment venues, and has business interests in Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom (Cardiff and Manchester).
Tim Leiweke also has had previous interests in Portugal, namely the Meo Arena since Live Nation acquired the majority stake (51%) previously held by Luís Montez, in a deal valued at over €40 million.
Today, Tim Leiweke is linked closely to Entrepreneur Equity Partners which bought the SAD Benfica shares from José António dos Santos.
The project might still end up dead in the water. The American tycoon is interested in having a slice of the Benfica District project. However, Benfica could use Article 13, which allows the SAD (Sporting Limited Company) to block acquisitions of participants holding more than 2% of the capital by investors with competing interests.
Source: Jornal Económico; Credits: Saraiva+Associados
