The landing of the private funds investmentthe majority North Americans, in the world of football It has not stopped since the end of the pandemic. The last movement, just a week ago, marked the entry of the company Close Partners in the powerful PSG, Qatari-owned, with a 12.5% stake. The French club was valued at 4.25 billion euros.
Arctos is one of the most prolific investors in the US in professional sports, with bites in the Golden State Warriors (NBA), Boston Red Sox (baseball), Aston Martin (Formula 1) or Liverpool FC in soccer. But he is not alone in this business, far from it. It is a booming sector. A recent report stated that a third of football clubs of the five major European leagues They are already, partially or totally, in the hands of private capital funds.
The football landscape has been transformed by the emergence of international societies that have seen clubs as a business avenue. These, when they found themselves in need of money after the ravages of the pandemic, found a lifeline in the financial muscle of big capital. Its presence, in some way, has grown alongside the new phenomenon of the beautiful sport: multiclubs. The City Football Group – owner of Manchester City, Girona and 11 other clubs – would be an example. There are quite a few more.
Television rights
This assault on the football business began with the Premier, which always moves gigantic figures, and has already reached Spain. In the United Kingdom there is the largest purchase in the history of football: the Chelseaacquired last year for 5,000 million by the American company Clearlake Capital and the financier Todd Boehly.
In September, to cite another recent large operation, RedBird Capital Partnersanother sports mastodon, completed the acquisition of the AC Milan for 1,200 million. Now the 777 Partners fund, with headquarters in Miami and with shares in the SevillaGenoa and Standard Liege, is about to take over the Everton for nearly 700 million.
In Spanish football, as was said, the clutches of large private groups have also been noticed, starting with LaLigawhich signed an agreement with CVC Capital Partners, a British venture capital entity, for the exploitation of part of the television rights in exchange for almost 2,000 million euros. The opposition from Barça and Madrid was notorious. The Bundesliga approved this Friday an agreement identical to LaLiga.
These funds have not only entered the First Division teams. In Second A and even First RFEF entities they have agreed with long-term projects. Zaragoza, Alcorcón, Leganés, Castellón or Algeciras would be some cases. But the most notable appearances have been in the two major Spanish football clubs with the purchase of specific assets or with loans for large-budget projects.
“What these funds seek is above all to direct the entertainment part of a club, increase consumption around it, and from here, as they have limited lives, of seven to 10 years, raise its value to then undertake a sale. “
It is what John Laporta popularized as levers, ‘cash’ later used to sign footballers. For example, the sale of 25% of the television rights for 25 years to Sixth Street Partnersa Californian investment fund, with participation in the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA, which also operates in Real Madrid with the exploitation of the new Santiago Bernabéu.
Laporta also closed the macro financing of the reform of the Camp Nou with around twenty investment groups whose identity Barça keeps secret, it is believed that the majority are from the United States. It has struck a chord, however, with Barça Studios and its partial sale to the German fund Libero. His money does not appear despite the imposition of deadlines.
Why this impulse?
But what are these societies looking for in football? He recently explained the ‘Financial Times’ that for private equity investors, football clubs represent valuable assets due to their constant growth trajectories. According to a report by Football Benchmarkthe value of the 32 most prominent European clubs has increased by 96% in the seven-year period between 2016 and 2023, something that is difficult to compare with any other sector.
The interest is fundamentally driven by the value of television rights and everything that has to do with content, an area with still possibilities for growth, from docuseries for platforms to digital formats such as NFTs. The Premier League, without going any further, announced a few days ago a new television agreement for a record figure of 6.7 billion pounds (7.8 billion euros) over four years starting with the 2025-2026 season.
Marc Ciriafinancier and executive president of Diagonal Asset Management, explains that what these funds “seek is to take a significant share of a club and, above all, direct the entertainment part. Increase consumption around this club, and from here, as they are limited life funds, of seven to 10 years, raise their value and then undertake a new sale.
Create content
Gerry Cardinale, founder of RedBird Capitalwhich bought AC Milan with the participation of Yankee Global Enterprise, owner of the legendary New York Yankees, and Lebron James, the NBA star, endorsed part of Ciria’s argument in an interview on Corriere della Sera. “Football clubs are content creators and there is enormous potential for them to achieve their true value,” she said.
European football, except for some leagues such as the Bundesliga, does not limit the participation of these funds, as does, for example, the NBA or the NFL, which makes it more attractive in their eyes. His entry has sometimes been thunderous, as in Chelsea and its more than a billion in signings, without any success it must be said. PSG, on the other hand, hopes that Arctos will give a global boost to its brand, apart from helping to heal some very deficient accounts. More than 700 million in the red in three years. And the Champions League, don’t even smell it.
2023-12-16 06:57:12
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