Shlomi Fogel's private investment vehicle has acquired the Spanish franchise in SailGP, the global sailing league bankrolled by Oracle founder Larry Ellison. Terms were not disclosed. The deal hands Fogel control of a team that races F50 catamarans capable of speeds above 50 knots in stadiumized harbor courses across 13 events per season.

The Spanish team competed in its inaugural SailGP season in 2022, finishing seventh in the 10-team standings. Under the new ownership structure, the team retains its Spanish flag registration and home-nation racing rights. Fogel's company confirmed the acquisition through a brief statement Monday; no management changes were announced. The previous ownership group, a consortium of Spanish maritime sponsors, had signaled interest in an exit since early 2024 after struggling to secure a marquee sailor from the 470 or 49er Olympic classes.

The transaction marks the second billionaire-backed entry into SailGP's ownership tier in six months. Tom Ford CEO Domenico De Sole purchased the Canadian franchise in September for a reported $30 million, establishing a floor valuation that sources close to the Spanish deal say Fogel met or exceeded. SailGP operates on a franchise model uncommon in sailing: teams pay an entry fee, share central media revenue, and compete for a $7 million season prize fund. Ellison's league has raised $150 million in equity since launch, with investors including CVC Capital Partners taking a minority stake in the league entity itself in 2023. The structure mirrors Formula E's early franchise playbook—capped team count, investor-owned entries, centralized broadcast rights—but applied to a sport with negligible legacy commercial infrastructure.

Fogel's interest carries weight beyond the check size. His Tel Aviv-based real estate group controls commercial properties across 14 European cities, giving SailGP a pathway into Mediterranean venue negotiations that have stalled. The league races in Cádiz and Taranto but has struggled to secure long-term hosting deals in Barcelona and Monaco, where harbor authorities demand revenue shares the league's current economics cannot support. A Spanish team owner with European real estate reach changes that conversation. Sources familiar with SailGP's venue pipeline say preliminary talks for a Barcelona event in 2026 resumed within days of the acquisition closing.

The deal also clarifies the league's franchise valuation velocity. When SailGP launched in 2019, team entry was effectively subsidized—Ellison covered operating costs to populate the grid. The Canada sale six months ago reset expectations; this Spanish deal confirms the trend. Three additional franchises are rumored to be exploring exits before the 2025 season starts in November, with whispered interest from family offices in Singapore and Dubai. If those trades clear near the $30 million mark, SailGP will have manufactured $120 million in enterprise value for assets that did not exist five years ago, a pace that makes even mediocre Formula E franchises look sluggish.

Fogel's group inherits a team payroll estimated at $8 million annually, a figure SailGP mandates to maintain competitive parity. The Spanish roster includes strategist Florian Trittel, who sailed for Germany in the Tokyo Olympics, and wing trimmer Jordi Xammar, a Barcelona native with sponsorship ties to the Catalan government. Both are under contract through 2025. The team's F50 catamaran, valued at roughly $4 million, transfers with the franchise; SailGP retains ownership of all boats but assigns them to teams for the season.

Watch for Fogel's first public appearance at SailGP's season opener in Dubai this November. The league schedules a mandatory owners' meeting the Thursday before each event; attendance patterns there signal who is building for a long hold versus positioning for a secondary sale. Separately, Barcelona's port authority is expected to issue a decision on SailGP's venue application by late June, a timeline that now carries different implications. If the bid succeeds, the Spanish team gains a home race with guaranteed local sponsor interest, a revenue bump that justifies the franchise price in fewer than three seasons.

The acquisition leaves SailGP with two remaining league-owned teams—New Zealand and Italy—that Ellison has indicated he will sell before the 2026 season to complete the transition to a fully privatized ownership structure. The New Zealand franchise is rumored to be in advanced talks with a Wellington-based private equity group; Italy remains uncommitted. Once those trades close, SailGP will operate as a pure franchise league, a structure no other sailing property has attempted at scale. Whether that model holds when Ellison's subsidy ends is the question every new owner is quietly underwriting.