Could Scottish soccer be the next to benefit from Hollywood investment?
In a situation reminiscent of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McIlhenny’s takeover of Welsh soccer side Wrexham, former Netflix international originals chief Erik Barmack looks set to acquire a stake in Motherwell FC.
A report in the Scottish Daily Mail has named Barmack as the unnamed U.S. investor who is planning to buy into the Scottish team, which plays in the Scottish Premier League alongside the likes of giants Celtic and Rangers.
Reynolds and McIlhenny took over Wrexham for about £2M in February 2021 when the club was playing outside the professional English leagues, but have led a transformation by investing heavily. The team currently sits third in League Two, three below the Premier League, and Motherwell fans will be hoping Barmack can lead their club to similar new glories.
Motherwell has been seeking external investors and released a lighthearted video appealing for A-list stars akin to the Wrexham pair to come forwards. The Scottish Daily Mail reported this had worked, with parties from the U.S. and the Middle East signalling interest.
Earlier this week, Motherwell’s management released a statement, saying that investment discussions with “a U.S.-based family have reached the point where both parties wish to move forward to the next stage,” and that the pair had reached a non-binding agreement on terms.
That investor appears to be Barmack, and We understand further updates could follow in the next few days.
Barmack declined to comment when approached for comment this morning. Motherwell had not responded to a request for comment.
Barmack worked at Netflix for eight years between 2011 and 2019, overseeing its push into original content outside the U.S. as the streamer expanded around the world. He exited his post as head international originals five years ago and later launched California-based producer and financier Wild Sheep Content.
Since going it alone, he has engineering numerous international co-productions, including Scottish film KILL. As we revealed back in June 2022, the Rodger Griffiths film starring the likes of Brian Vernel and Daniel Portman was a co-production with Scottish indie Synchronicity Films and Mr B. Films, with CAA Media Finance among others attached. The film debuted at the Edinburgh Film Festival last year.
More recently, Wild Sheep has been attached to projects such as survival thriller Hunting Ana Bravo with MediaPro Studio; Viaplay original Jana – Marked for Life; Peacock telenovela adaptation Queen of Flow, which is from Westbrook Studios and Universal Television; and This is AP Dhillon, a doc for Prime Vide Indian about the breakout Punjabi hip-hop star.
This is not the only time an LA investor has bought into a Scottish club — albeit the last time was in Succession. In season 2 episode ‘Dundee’ Logan Roy’s son Roman mistakenly invests in Scottish soccer team Heart of Midlothian, which is the Edinburgh rival of his father’s actual favorite team, Hibs.