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Wesley Robert Edens (born October 30, 1961) is an American billionaire businessman and private equity investor. He is the co-founder of Fortress Investment Group and founder of New Fortress Energy. Edens is co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While Edens was co-owner, the Bucks won the 2021 NBA championship. He is also the co-owner of association football holding company V Sports alongside Nassef Sawiris, whose assets include ownership of football club Aston Villa and a 29% stake in Portuguese Primeira Liga team Vitória S.C.[1]
By the time it went public in 2007 Fortress' assets under management included both private equity and publicly traded alternative investment vehicles — fourteen private equity funds, four hedge funds, and two real estate vehicles. When the Japanese financial holding company, Nomura Holdings acquired 15% of Fortress for $888 million in December 2006 with proceeds going to the five principals, Edens and his partners became paper billionaires. Edens became co-chairman in 2009, and helped the company, which saw its stock price fall to below one dollar after the subprime mortgage crisis,"On Wall Street, the best way to get over a losing trade is to bounce back with a winner. Mr. Edens is enjoying a surprising whopper: subprime loans. ... The giant gains have helped offset recent stumbles by Fortress in its "macro" hedge-fund business — and made Mr. Edens the new subprime king." resurge by offering subprime lending. He was chairman of Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC from 2015 to May 2016.
In 2019, New Fortress constructed a nearly $1 billion floating LNG terminal in Jamaica's Old Harbour Bay. The prime minister of Jamaica stated that the terminal's presence will result in overall cheaper energy costs for the country. New Fortress Energy has been involved in multiple philanthropic projects in Jamaica after its work completion with the LNG terminal. In October 2020, New Fortress Energy invested in H2Pro, a startup that develops low-cost green hydrogen technology. Through New Fortress' Zero, its renewable hydrogen division, the two companies will partner in order develop and commercialize green hydrogen technology. The Zero division also partnered that same month with a gas-fired power plant in Ohio in order to blend hydrogen to produce electricity.
In January 2021, the company announced that it would acquire natural gas company Hygo Energy Transition Ltd, as well as Golar LNG Partners LP, the shipping segment of Golar LNG, for $5 billion to expand its presence in Brazil. New Fortress plans to launch a pilot program in 2021 to test the usage of hydrogen as an energy source of power generation.
New Fortress Energy (NFE) has a contract with the Puerto Rican government until 2026 for the supply of liquefied natural gas to Puerto Rico.
Beginning in 2024, Fortress plans on constructing a second line on the West Coast, called Brightline West, connecting Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga, California with a stop in Apple Valley, California via a . This 135-minute commute aims to carry passengers at speeds of up to . Trains on this line will be fully electric and run along the Interstate 15 right of way. Brightline's service is modeled on Eurostar's Paris-to-London commute.
Cincoro produces four tequilas: a blanco, a reposado (aged 8 to 10 months), an añejo (aged 24 to 28 months), and an extra añejo (aged up to 44 months). The agave used to produce Cincoro's tequila is hand-selected from two regions in Jalisco. These two regions include the highlands, which is famous for its soils that are high in iron oxide, and the lowlands, which is composed of mostly volcanic rock. After being harvested, the agave is cooked for 35 hours. Cincoro's tequila is aged in American whiskey barrels for 10 to 14 months in addition to the regulatory minimum of 14 months. Its extra añejo blend is a combination of tequilas that are aged between 40 and 44 months.
FlyQuest's brand emphasizes environmental issues through its jersey design and ikebana displays at competitions. Each time FlyQuest wins a game, the team plants 100 trees. Its initiatives also include fundraising for marine wildlife conservation.
In September 2022, Edens sold FlyQuest to the Vincent Viola, owner of the Florida Panthers NHL team.
On June 18, 2016, groundbreaking and construction began on the promised new arena, the Fiserv Forum. Edens envisioned the arena's design to hold a capacity of 16,500 and to host concerts and basketball games. The arena received its certificate of occupancy on June 5, 2018, and opened on August 26, 2018. Within its first year, Fiserv Forum averaged more fans than the usual sellout capacity due to standing-room tickets. In 2017, Jon Horst, who was later named NBA Executive of the Year in 2019, was appointed as general manager with Edens' recommendation. , the NBA franchise was valued at $1.075 billion. During the 2019 NBA Eastern Conference playoffs, the Bucks defeated the Detroit Pistons, ending their playoff losing streak. Before the 2020 NBA Bubble restart, the team had won 57 percent of its games overall and had the best winning projection for the 2019–2020 season. In 2020, Forbes stated that the Milwaukee Bucks saw the seventh-highest increase in year-over-year value compared to all NBA teams. It was reported to be worth about $1.58 billion, and ranked as first in value for the Eastern Conference in the 2019–2020 season. Forbes: Milwaukee Bucks now worth $1.58 billion, move up the ranks
In summer 2020, owners Edens, Lasry and Jamie Dinan stated "The only way to bring about change is to shine a light on the racial injustices in front of us. Our players have done that and we will continue to stand by them" in support of the Bucks' decision to cancel their scheduled playoff game against Orlando Magic to bring attention to Jacob Blake's shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a city near Milwaukee.
A complete overhaul ensued at Aston Villa, with former Liverpool executive Christian Purslow appointed as CEO, followed by a significant turnover of playing staff. The club would subsequently be promoted back to the Premier League, following the sacking of Steve Bruce and appointment of Dean Smith. This included a period of Villa's longest ever winning streak of 10 games. Following promotion, NSWE bought out the remainder of Xia's shares to become sole owners in August 2019. This was done by taking on an unpaid £30m debt owed by Xia to former owner Randy Lerner upon promotion.
NSWE's ownership of Villa has consisted of heavy investment. As of August 2022, over £360m worth of debt-free shares were injected into the club since the initial purchase. Plans to expand Villa Park from 42,682 seats to over 50,000, including the demolition of the North Stand and the creation of a major retail venue, remain at an advanced stage. The project is set to cost over £100m and will be entirely funded by NSWE.
In 2021, the NSWE holding company rebranded to V Sports, with a view of investing into other clubs around the world via a multi-club model.
Aston Villa
In July 2018, a consortium consisting of Edens and Nassef Sawiris, referring to themselves as NSWE, purchased a 55% controlling stake worth £30m in English Premier League (then EFL Championship) club Aston Villa. The club had previously faced significant cash flow issues. Heavy and irresponsible spending from owner Tony Xia, followed by political difficulties preventing Xia from injecting further funds, had led to a poor financial outlook. Villa eventually faced a potential Liquidation by HMRC, following an unpaid £4m tax bill. Following the NSWE takeover, however, NSWE paid and addressed said financial issues.
Vitória de Guimarães
In February 2023, V Sports entered into an agreement to purchase a 46% stake worth €5m in Portuguese Primeira Liga team Vitória S.C. As part of the agreement, V Sports would invest an additional €2m into sporting infrastructure within the next 2 years and provide a credit line of up to €20m. The agreement was ratified by Vitória's members on March 4, 2023.
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