Serie A Clubs Accept $2B Bid For New Media Company Stake

Serie A's 20 clubs "voted unanimously" on Thursday to accept a €1.7 ($2B) offer from a consortium of private equity funds that will be charged with "improving the sale and promotion of the league's TV rights." The consortium "featuring CVC Capital Partners, Advent International and FSI will control 10% of the league's new media company." Serie A President Paolo Dal Pino said, ''There are still a lot of checks to be done but we've accepted the offer.'' He added, ''We've done something unique in a really dramatic time. ... The economic impact on clubs (from the pandemic) is about 600 million euros ($700M)" (AP, 11/19).

Fourteen votes out of 20 were "needed to approve the deal, though it was already known that a clear majority was in favor of the entry of funds." Now it will take a couple of months to draw up the contracts and "it is expected that the closing will be reached in the new year," during which the Serie A TV rights will have to be sold for the three-year period from '21-24 (GAZZETTA DELLO SPORT, 11/19).