On Friday, 37 clubs voted in favor of the “LaLiga Boost” agreement, which sells to CVC an 8.2% stake in a new company that will earn income from broadcasting rights and sponsorship from Spanish League.
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao e Ibiza voted against the deal, a source close to the negotiations told Reuters. There was no immediate official statement from these clubs or details on their next moves.
At least 32 of the 42 Spanish first and second division teams needed to back the deal for it to go ahead. In addition to the four objections, another club abstained from voting, the source said, without naming the club.
The Spanish League had said the deal would be worth € 2.7 billion when it was first presented in August. The lower figure of 1.994 million euros, announced on Friday, reflected the non-participation clauses and will be distributed among participating clubs and paid over a period of three years, the organization said.
It is the first investment agreement of a venture capital company in a major European league.
“We are facing a new milestone in the history of LaLiga and the clubs,” said the president of the Spanish tournament, Javier Tebas. “We are proud to have reached this agreement with CVC, a project that will allow us to continue the transformation into a global digital entertainment company, strengthening the competition and transforming the experience for fans.”
Goldman Sachs will contribute a part of the funds that CVC will invest in Spanish soccer and that will recover over 50 yearssources on both sides had said.
The clubs commit to allocate 70% of the funds to investments related to new infrastructures and modernization projects. Up to 15% can be used to sign players, and the remaining 15% to reduce debt.
The deal appeared to be at risk when Barcelona, Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao last week approached an alternative proposal in which JPMorgan, Bank of America and HSBC would jointly lend 2,000 million euros in exchange for a fixed annual payment of 115 million euros over 25 years, according to a document accessed by Reuters.
A source close to Real Madrid told the same British agency that the club will initiate legal action against LaLiga, as it threatened to do after announcing its objection in August. The objector clubs will not take any part of the CVC investment, although they will continue to receive their assigned share of the television rights money, the Iberian bullfighting clarified.
Culés and merengues, who have not yet ruled on the agreement, were some of the promoters of the failed plan to create an independent European Super League earlier this year and pledged to continue creating it after a Madrid court ruled against UEFA.
It is the third time CVC has attempted to invest in a top-tier European league, after plans for the league were scrapped earlier this year. A league Italian and the Bundesliga German to sell him some media rights.
CVC is also preparing preliminary offers for a stake in Ligue 1’s media rights business, a source told Reuters this week.
CVC has invested in Formula 1, Moto GP and rugby and, according to Sky News, is behind a new commercial venture that is preparing to merge the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA)..
Source From: Ambito
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