PE heavyweights line up for EUR 1.5bn Ligue 1 stake – report

Greg Gille
10 December 2021

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A 20% stake in Ligue 1, France's top football league, has attracted interest from private equity majors including CVC and Bain Capital, according to a Reuters report.

Beside CVC and Bain, also set to bid are Advent International, Apollo Global Management, Bridgepoint, EQT, KKR and Silver Lake, with submissions due on or before 13 December, Reuters reported quoting four sources.

The French league's auction is expected to wrap up by the start of the second quarter and a deal could be signed before the end of the season in May, the sources told Reuters.

Ligue 1 is advised by Centerview, Lazard and Darrois, the report noted. No comments were forthcoming from Ligue 1, CVC, Bain, KKR, Advent, EQT and Silver Lake, according to Reuters.

Ligue 1 has been exploring financing options, including a minority stake sale to private equity, in the latest move among elite soccer tiers to attract external investment, as reported.

A funny old game
Ligue 1's exploration of external capital comes amid a flurry of PE interest in Europe's top football leagues – but none of these potential deals have been plain-sailing.

Italy's Serie A was reported to have revived talks in August with Advent, CVC Capital Partners and FSI to sell a 10% stake in its commercial arm with a valuation of around EUR 1.7bn. The deal seemingly inched closer to the finish line in November last year but fell apart in early March, following more delays when seven of the 20 clubs making up Serie A voiced opposition.

CVC also announced over the summer a EUR 2.7bn investment in Spain's La Liga, valuing the club competition at around EUR 24.3bn; the deal was initially approved before top clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona moved to block the deal. Real Madrid initially announced it would initiate legal action, and reports have now emerged that Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao have proposed a EUR 2bn investment plan to rival the CVC bid before a final vote is due.

Germany's top-flight league – the Bundesliga – explored a 25% stake sale in its overseas broadcasting arm, before being shelved after football clubs raised concerns over private equity involvement. KKR, Bridgepoint and CVC were reported to be vying for the asset.

The Ligue 1 deal could prove less controversial, the Reuters report noted, as both the French government and the country's clubs expressed support for the exploration of strategic options. The league is still reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic: Ligue 1 clubs' total revenues fell 16% to EUR 1.6bn in 2019/20, more than EUR 450m behind the nearest of their 'big five' European rivals (Serie A), according to Deloitte's latest annual review of the sport. Ligue 1 became the only top-flight European league to cancel its season during the pandemic.