KKR scores Hertha BSC deal

The club will use the fresh funding to strengthen its balance sheet via a deleveraging process and a repurchase of rights. Hertha will continue to focus on its youth development programme.

KKR has invested $4.4bn in Germany across 15 deals since 1999. The GP's latest German transaction involved a full exit from media company ProSiebenSat.1, with the sale of its remaining 17% stake, valued in the region of €1-1.3bn.

Private equity dealflow in the football sector has been scarce and challenging. Past transactions include Charterhouse's £15.6m commitment to Sheffield Wednesday and Electra's acquisition of a 25% stake in Derby County, both of which were written off.

In 2012, Colony Capital sold its remaining 30% stake in Paris St Germain to Qatar Sports Investments in a deal thought to value the firm at €100m. The GP had divested its 70% stake in May 2011 in a transaction that saw Butler Capital fully exit the club, which was valued at around €50m.

Company
Founded in 1892, Hertha BSC is a Berlin-based football club with more than 30,000 members. The club has won the German championship twice (in 1930 and 1931) and plays in the Fußball-Bundesliga. Hertha plays at the Berlin Olympic Stadium, which seats 74,244 spectators.

People
Johannes Huth is head of KKR Europe and led the deal. Ingo Schiller is CFO of the football club.

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• Topics
• DACH
• Consumer
• Expansion
• Germany
• KKR