CVC dribbles past Silver Lake, Oaktree, H&F to score Ligue 1 deal

Under the deal, CVC and the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) will create a commercial subsidiary in which the GP will own the minority stake. 

The commercial arm will give CVC part ownership over the top league's media and commercial operations. The sponsor is one of the biggest investors in sports globally with similar deals in Spanish football, European rugby and global volleyball. 

LFP launched a sale for the minority stake in the autumn of 2021 with Lazard, Centerview and Darrios, reported Unquote's sister publication Mergermarket. 

It collected final bids on 9 April with CVC, Hellman & Friedman (H&F), Silver Lake and Oaktree Capital Partners shortlisted in December for a 10-15% stake in a commercial vehicle, as reported. 

CVC has been in exclusive negotiations since 18 March, it said, adding that the professional clubs of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 unanimously approved the project. 

The deal values Ligue 1 at EUR 11.5bn, said CVC. 

The new sponsor said that most of the capital will be paid to professional football clubs, with the remainder spent on amateur football, the reimbursement of a state loan and the seeding of the commercial subsidiary. 

Offside
The Ligue 1 deal is not CVC's first pass into sports rights, some with more controversy than others. It closed a EUR 2bn minority investment in Spain's top league LaLiga in December 2021 with 37 out of 42 clubs voting in favour, according to a statement. 

A notable opponent was the league's most successful club, Real Madrid, which threatened to block CVC's investment with legal action, as reported. 

CVC's joint bid with Advent and FSI to invest in Italy's Serie A for EUR 1.7m had earlier missed the post after seven out of the 20 clubs voiced opposition to the deal, as reported. 

The sponsor has found other commercial sports deals more receptive. Last year, it invested GBP 365m in Six Nations Rugby, which organises the Six Nations and Autumn International rugby tournaments as well as Volleyball World, a commercial arm that operates globally. 

It has also owned a 27% stake in Premiership Rugby, England's top rugby league, since late 2018. 

The Ligue 1 transaction is expected to close by the end of July 2022.

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