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CVC, Advent, FSI to buy Serie A in €1.7bn deal

Alessia Argentieri
20 November 2020

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Italian football league Serie A has voted unanimously in favour of an offer put forward by a consortium that comprises CVC Capital Partners, Advent International and FSI.

The consortium will acquire in a €1.7bn deal a 10% stake in a new media company, which will manage Serie A's broadcasting rights, valuing the company at €17bn. This is an increase from the initial offer of €1.3bn made by the consortium in September and a subsequent offer of €1.6bn in October. Under the joint bid, CVC will own half of the stake, Advent 40% and FSI the remainder.

The consortium will also provide a credit line of €1.2bn with an interest rate of 3%, which has been negotiated with Goldman Sachs, according to press reports.

Serie A chair Paolo Dal Pino confirmed the rumours to the press, adding that the deal has not been finalised yet, but is expected to close by the end of the year.

In October, Lega Calcio Serie A's assembly, which is composed of the representatives of all 20 teams and led by president Paolo Pino, decided with a large majority (15 teams voted in favour and five abstained) to grant the consortium exclusivity for a period of four weeks.

Previously, it was reported that CVC had secured an exclusive negotiation window until the end of June. The private equity firm was negotiating the acquisition of a stake of around 20% for €2.2bn, seeking a 10-year contract from the 2021/22 season and valuing the business at €10.8bn.

Bain Capital also made a €3.4bn preliminary offer for a 25% stake in Serie A in June. The bid valued Serie A at almost €12bn, surpassing CVC's offer. Bain Capital was assisted by investment bank Nomura, according to press reports. Market rumours suggested that General Atlantic had also joined the bidding.

In addition to offers for a minority stake, some PE firms had put forward financing proposals, including debt or hybrid financing deals. Among them were Apollo, Sixth Street and Blackstone via its GSO private debt arm, according to press reports.

Serie A's revenues lag behind other European football leagues' sales and have plummeted even more during the pandemic, with all matches being played in empty stadiums. Serie A generated revenues of around €2.5bn in the 2018/19 season, of which €1.5bn came from broadcasting rights, according to a report published by Deloitte.