Serie A Said to Pick CVC, Advent Group for Exclusive Talks

(Bloomberg) -- CVC Capital Partners and Advent International are in pole position to acquire a slice of the media rights in Italy’s Serie A soccer league, according to people familiar with the matter.

Serie A’s board agreed at a meeting on Tuesday to enter into exclusive talks with the private equity firms over their offer of 1.6 billion euros ($1.9 billion) for part of a new media company, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Italy’s FSI fund is also part of the offer from CVC and Advent, which will give the investors a 10% stake.

The proposal from CVC, Advent and FSI received the backing of 15 of Serie A’s 20 clubs, the people said, clearing the threshold for progressing to exclusive talks.

A representative for the CVC, Advent and FSI bid group declined to comment. A representative for Serie A declined to comment. Italian news agency Radiocor earlier reported news of the successful offer.

Serie A, home to players including Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku, is in need of an injection of cash after decades of underinvestment. The league and its teams have seen their finances further hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has caused match-day sales to evaporate and diminished broadcast revenue.

CVC, Advent and FSI beat out rival bids from Bain Capital and Fortress Investment Group LLC. This week, Fortress made a last-minute bid of as much as 900 million euros for Serie A’s media rights, while Bain put forward an updated 1.6 billion-euro offer for a 15% stake in a new media company, Bloomberg News reported.

The Italian league has been trying to increase its revenue to levels closer to those of England’s Premier League and Spain’s La Liga. It generated sales of about 2.5 billion euros in the 2018-2019 season, with almost 60% coming from broadcasting, according to a June report from Deloitte.

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