CHICAGO (July 11, 2018) — Chicago Fire Soccer Club Chairman and Owner, Andrew Hauptman, today announced that Morningstar Chairman, Joe Mansueto, has acquired a 49 percent stake in the team. Mr. Mansueto is the first new investor in the Fire since Mr. Hauptman purchased the team in 2007.
Under terms of the agreement, Mr. Hauptman will remain Chairman, controlling shareholder and the Club’s Governor on the MLS Board of Governors. Mr. Mansueto will become Vice Chairman of the Club and represent the Club on the MLS Board of Governors as Alternate Governor. Other terms of the transaction were not released.
“It’s hard to imagine a better partner for me and our Club than Joe,” said Mr. Hauptman. “In addition to decades of experience as a respected business builder and leader, Joe brings a passion for soccer and cares deeply about the city of Chicago. After getting to know Joe over the past several months, it is clear we both share a common vision and ambition for the Club and the enormous continued potential for Major League Soccer in Chicago.”
“Andrew has assembled a top-tier management team and dramatically increased the profile of the Chicago Fire Soccer Club, Major League Soccer and the game overall in the Chicago area,” said Mr. Mansueto. “I’m incredibly excited to partner with him to build on the Club’s achievements. Soccer is a phenomenal game that continues to grow rapidly in the U.S. and around the world. I’m pleased to help fulfill the vision of bringing this premier team to the forefront of soccer in our country.”
Moelis & Company acted as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins acted as legal advisor to Andell Inc. BDT & Company acted as financial advisor and Covington & Burling acted as legal advisor to Mansueto Sports, LLC.
About Joe Mansueto
Joe Mansueto is the Executive Chairman of Morningstar, a leading investment research firm based in Chicago. He founded Morningstar in 1984 and stepped down as CEO at the end of 2016. Morningstar today employs over 5,000 people and operates in 27 countries around the world.
Mr. Mansueto also owns Inc and Fast Company magazines and is on the board of the Art Institute of Chicago and Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
About Andrew Hauptman
Andrew Hauptman is the chairman of Andell Inc., a private investment firm and family office he controls with his wife, Ellen Bronfman Hauptman. Andell invests directly in both control and minority stakes in private and public companies and real estate, and has investments in a broad range of sectors including, education, financial and business services, healthcare, media and entertainment, retail and consumer, and transportation. The firm also partners with top-tier investment managers around the globe. Mr. Hauptman oversees the firm’s investment strategy and is actively involved in Andell’s operating businesses.
Since acquiring the Chicago Fire in 2007, Mr. Hauptman has significantly increased the reach of the Club and the sport of soccer in the Chicago area through construction of the CIBC Fire Pitch, a year-round soccer facility, which attracts more than 300,000 visitors annually, by expanding youth and recreational soccer programs to serve more than 30,000 players, and by assembling a world-class soccer staff including President and General Manager, Nelson Rodríguez, Head Coach and U-20 World Cup championship coach, Veljko Paunović, and Academy Director, Cedric Cattenoy, former head coach of the Paris Saint-Germain Academy. Mr. Hauptman was also instrumental in bringing the sold-out 2017 MLS All-Star Game to Soldier Field in Chicago, which received the highest television ratings of any MLS All-Star Game in history. In 2017, he was inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame as Sports Advocate of the Year.
As President of the Chicago Fire Foundation, Mr. Hauptman oversaw the creation of the P.L.A.Y.S. (Participate Learn Achieve Youth Soccer) program, which teaches social and emotional skills to 3rd through 5th graders in 22 Chicago Public Schools. In addition, the Foundation has received extensive recognition for its community impact including the 2016 Beyond Sport Team of the Year award, 2017 Corporate Citizen of the Year awarded by the Executives’ Club of Chicago, and most recently, was nominated as a finalist for ESPN’s 2018 Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year.
