ATLANTA, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons have a new minority owner after NFL owners approved an investment from Arctos, the sports-focused private equity firm owned by KKR.
League owners voted Tuesday at their meeting in New York to let Arctos, a KKR business, buy a 7.5% limited partnership stake in the team. Arctos has also agreed to buy another 2.5% later, a step that will require a separate owners vote. The approval took effect right away, and the sale should close before the end of October.
Arthur Blank keeps 73% of the franchise. The 10% deal was previously reported to value the team at $10.6 billion. Blank said proceeds from the sale will go toward his family’s charitable priorities. Arctos was founded in 2019, was acquired by KKR in 2026 and is the biggest institutional buyer of pro sports team stakes, as well as the only firm cleared to hold pieces of teams in all five major U.S. leagues.
Arctos joins a group of limited partners that already includes former Falcons running back Warrick Dunn.
The ownership news came a day after a roster move at quarterback, when Atlanta signed veteran Andy Dalton and released Cooper Rush.
For Blank, the sale continues a long run of investment in Atlanta sports and entertainment. Arctos partner Chad Hutchinson credited him with helping turn the city into one of the country’s top destinations for sports and events, with the Falcons at the center of that change.
The Falcons were advised on the deal by BDT & MSD Partners, with King & Spalding as the team’s legal counsel and Kirkland & Ellis representing Arctos.
Atlanta is home Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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