Serie A Seeks Funding by Selling Minority Stake in New Overseas Entity

Serie A is pursuing a new round of capital operations to sell a 10% to 20% minority stake in a newly created independent operating entity. This entity will bundle the league's overseas media rights, overseas betting, and sponsorship commercial assets. TMTPost reported the story.

Four top private equity firms, including Carlyle, Bain Capital, Oaktree Capital Management, and the Italian firm Nextalia, have confirmed their entry into the bidding process. The assets being carved out from the main league body generate approximately 250 million euros in annual revenue and roughly 200 million euros in core profit.

Bidding institutions have provided a valuation range for the business between 3 billion and 4 billion euros, which converts to 25 billion to 33 billion CNY. Some financial media in Milan suggest the potential value of the transaction could reach 4.5 billion euros.

This marks the third time Serie A has attempted to negotiate with private equity funds. Two previous attempts were terminated due to internal disagreements among the clubs. In November 2020, a proposal involving CVC Capital, Ardian, and the Italian Strategic Fund for 1.7 billion euros failed after seven clubs, including Juventus, Inter Milan, and Lazio, opposed it. A subsequent attempt between late 2021 and 2022 involving firms such as Carlyle, Apax Partners, Three Hills Capital, Searchlight Capital, and Oaktree Capital Management also ended without a deal.

The current strategy narrows the scope by focusing only on overseas business and offering a flexible equity sale range of 10% to 20%. Based on the 3 billion to 4 billion euro valuation, the total investment would be between 300 million and 800 million euros, meaning each of the twenty clubs would receive approximately 150 million to 400 million CNY.

Financial pressures are driving the move, as the twenty Serie A clubs added 348.8 million euros in losses for the 2024/25 season. Total debts for Italian professional football teams have reached 5.5 billion euros. Additionally, domestic broadcasting rights for 2024 to 2029 sold to DAZN and Sky Italia are expected to bring in at least 4.5 billion euros over five years, averaging about 900 million euros annually, which is lower than the previous average of 930 million euros per year.