US investment firm Bain Capital has made “a tentative offer” to buy a 25-per-cent stake in Italian football’s Serie A for €3bn ($3.4bn), according to Bloomberg.
Bain is seeking to beat a €2.2bn bid by private equity company CVC Capital Partners, revealed in May.
Bain’s investment is reported to be driven by a desire for a stake in the league’s media rights business, which generates more than $1.5bn per season.
CVC’s bid was to acquire 20 per cent of a new company that would manage the media rights, Serie A’s international trademark and commercial development, and part-finance a new investment fund responsible for stadium development, according to a report in the Financial Times. The investment company was reported to have had a six-week exclusive negotiation period with the league, running until the end of June.
Another US private equity group, Blackstone, has been reported to be ready to offer Serie A a €100m loan to meet its clubs’ short-term needs during the Covid-19 business downturn.
Serie A, like other sports rights-holders, is exploring options for obtaining funds to help it through the pandemic.
The league is due to resume play next Saturday, June 20, and play matches almost every day to complete the 2019-20 season by August 2. The season has been suspended since March 9.
Yesterday, the league announced a new sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola.
