CVC, Hellman & Friedman, Silver Lake and Oaktree emerge as rivals for a stake in Ligue 1
Formal bids for a €1.5bn deal with France’s Ligue 1 are being prepared by private equity groups CVC Capital Partners, Hellman & Friedman, Silver Lake and Oaktree Capital, as the country’s top football league seeks to recover from a disastrous spell that has left many of its clubs with financial problems.
Ligue de Football Professionnel is selling a stake in a newly created company that will market its TV and online broadcast rights, in an auction that has drawn the attention of buyout groups at a time when many are increasingly keen to strike sport deals.
Buyout group EQT had looked at the deal at an earlier stage, but is no longer involved, people close to the matter said. Italy’s Serie A and Germany’s Bundesliga have both considered selling stakes to private equity groups, but talks on both transactions have since collapsed after opposition from some clubs.
The league could sell as much as 15 per cent of the new company holding the media rights, people close to the process said. That would value the company at about €10bn, about 13 times its 2019 earnings, one of the people said.
Read more: Financial Times
