French Ligue 1 football has agreed to sell a stake in its media business to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for 1.5 billion euros.
The Professional Football League (LFP) has confirmed the deal after entering into talks with the Luxembourg private equity firm earlier this month.
The deal will see CVC take a 13% stake in the league’s new trading company which will handle media sales.
The LFP accepted CVC’s proposal, which beat out competition from other investment firms, including Hellman & Friedman, Oaktree Capital and Silver Lake.
Although the distribution of the funds has not been disclosed, a number of local reports have indicated that the LFP will receive an initial amount of €600m in July, of which €200m will go directly to Paris Saint-Germain. , supported by Qatar.
Marseille and Lyon would receive 90 million euros each, while the remaining clubs will receive more modest amounts.
The LFP will also direct €170m of the total to the French state to repay a loan it took out during the Covid-19 shutdown, while €100m each will go to a reserve fund. and the operating costs of the new company.
In the meantime, it’s been a busy time for CVC. Earlier this month, the investment firm bought a stake in Rugby’s Six Nations for £365million, while offering a joint venture with Italian operator TIM.
