Faced with the refusal of the holder of the rights of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, Mediapro, to meet its deadline of October 5 (172 million euros), the LFP decided to contract a loan estimated at 120 million. During the board of directors of the instance, which was held this Thursday morning by videoconference, Vincent Labrune, the new president, detailed this emergency loan.
To reach 172 million euros, which correspond to the bill not honored by the broadcaster, the League will draw from its own funds to the tune of fifty million euros, according to our information which confirms those of the Team. Seven French and foreign banks had been approached for this purpose. The identity of the selected financial institution has not been filtered, but it should be known by the end of the week. According to some sources, it is an English bank.
The general assembly of the League, scheduled for next Monday, will definitively ratify this operation. This will allow L1 and L2 clubs, whose TV rights are the main source of income (36% for L1 in 2018-19 according to the DNCG, financial policeman of French football), to pay the salaries of their players. In the spring, the LFP had already taken out a first loan, a loan guaranteed by the State, in the amount of 224.5 million euros to compensate for the premature end of the championship and to supply the cash flow of the clubs.
Mediapro put on formal notice
Mediapro, holder of most of the TV broadcasting rights for Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, has started a showdown with French football authorities by demanding to renegotiate downward its record contract of 814 million euros per season between 2020 and 204.
The Sino-Spanish group headed by Jaume Roures has entered into a mediation procedure with the Nanterre commercial court, which allows companies to negotiate with their creditors. The LFP rejected this procedure and put Mediapro on formal notice to settle its deadlines. Otherwise, it does not rule out turning to other broadcasters.
“There are then two possibilities, either a favorable outcome is found with Mediapro, or this is not the case, and it will be necessary to consider the resumption of the contract by other operators, explains Arnaud Rougier, executive director general of the League, in a letter sent to club presidents. He also specifies that the body activated, moreover, “the guarantee given by the parent company of the Mediapro group”, the Chinese fund Orient Hontai Capital.
