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Private equity groups CVC Capital Partners and Blackstone are in separate talks about investments in Italy’s Serie A soccer league, which is facing a loss of revenue from the coronavirus pandemic.
CVC is in talks to acquire a 20 percent stake in Serie A for € 2 billion, valuing the League at € 10 billion, according to two people briefed on the discussions that started late last year.
The move could give CVC, which has a long history of sports franchise agreements, including Formula One, MotoGP and England’s Premiership Rugby, a role in selling broadcast rights for ten years from 2021, the companies said. people.
However, a person with knowledge of the proposal said the talks are at an early stage and that there is a possible legal hurdle.
Blackstone is separately considering lending to clubs to help cover their costs during game closings, according to people familiar with the proposal. The talks are at an early stage and may not lead to an agreement, they said.
CVC, Blackstone and Serie A declined to comment.
Europe’s top soccer leagues seek to emerge from a financial crisis caused by the pandemic, in the face of which major investors showed a strong appetite for deals in the world’s most popular sport.
The consultancy KPMG has estimated that Series A will lose between 550 and 650 million euros in revenue related to the transmission, sponsorship and ticketing if the season ends without more games played.
Last season, Serie A teams shared € 1.2 billion in broadcast revenue, € 2 billion less than clubs in England’s Premier League, the world’s most valuable national competition.
The Italian league was also offered a € 1.15 billion partnership with Spanish television production group Mediapro to create a new channel showing top-tier Italian matches between 2021-2024 last year. But the league has repeatedly delayed making a decision on the proposal.
Mediapro had initially won exclusive national rights to project Serie A in 2018, but lost the tender after it was unable to provide financial guarantees to the league in time. This prompted Serie A to reopen its offering, with pay TV station Sky and internet streaming service DAZN obtaining the rights to screen matches in Italy until 2021.
Tensions peaked between Serie A and Sky and DAZN as both broadcasters asked the Italian league for a discount on this year’s screening rights as matches were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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CVC has been in a series of talks designed to reshape world rugby, with an agreement to acquire a £ 120m stake in Pro14, an annual club competition between teams in Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales and South Africa in its final stages , according to people with direct knowledge of the deliberations.
But a proposed £ 300 million deal to invest in the Six Nations, Europe’s leading rugby tournament, has been delayed as the sport struggles with a financial crisis caused by the suspension of matches.
However, CVC has also shown interest in acquiring soccer assets. Last year, he held talks with FIFA and Real Madrid in Spain about financing new world soccer competitions, but later ceased to be interested in those projects.
Serie A is among the major European leagues, including the Premier League and La Liga de España, which has begun tentative talks to resume its national seasons when their respective governments ease the blocking measures.
The German Bundesliga made plans to restart matches in May, albeit without the presence of spectators. The move is being closely watched by other sports around the world, providing a potential plan for how to return to play once the blocks are relieved.
