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L’Équipe report this morning that the LFP – the governing body for Ligue 1 and 2 – has agreed to enter discussions with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners over a stake in a new company which will commercialise French football’s broadcasting rights and sponsorships.
The 13% stake will be sold for €1.5bn. CVC are already involved in a similar project with La Liga, and were chosen over other investors such as Oaktree and Silver Lake, who also submitted formal offers.
CVC’s offer was accepted as a result of their expertise in the business, but also thanks to less aggressive clauses in their offer with regard to a scenario where fixed profitability objectives are not reached. The firm would also wait until the new round of TV rights from 2024 to remunerate itself and has committed to staying for at least 4 years.
The deal is a financial relief for French football, in the wake of disastrous management of broadcasting rights and high deficits.
Although the LFP’s administrative council approved the project yesterday, there are still steps to undertake before the deal goes through. At the start of next week, a working group including representatives of Paris Saint-Germain, Lyon, Marseille, Rennes and Lorient will meet with CVC.
On Thursday, a Ligue 1 electoral college will take place to present the project and discuss the distribution of the €1.1bn for LFP clubs, which is expected to benefit the bigger clubs and in particular PSG. The Parisian club’s agreement is especially important as the deal is subject to their involvement in the project.
