ANDl investment fund ‘CVC Capital Partners’ will disengage from the agreement with The league -signed for 50 years, until 2071- and will give way to another investor in a period of between eight and ten years (around 2030), he assured Juan Arbide, Managing Director of the CVC Fund in a meeting with the media in which he explained the agreement together with Óscar Mayo, executive general director of LaLiga.
“We will leave LaLiga after a little more than five years have passed, there is no exact date but in these operations it is normal to leave in 8-10 years,” Arbide said.
We will leave LaLiga after a little more than five years, there is no exact date but in these operations it is normal to leave in 8-10 years
According to both organizations, there is a CVC exit protocol so that the next collaborator “has similar ideas” to the investment fund itself and that it remains “in tune with LaLiga’s board of directors.”
“Someone without sports experience is not going to arrive, that LaLiga does not value the same as CVC or that it does not have our same ideals, “he explained May.
The agreement between LaLiga and CVC was presented to the clubs last August and from the 42 attendees three did not accept (Oviedo finally agreed), so they will be on the sidelines. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Club will not have access to 2,100 million euros that the CVC Fund will inject into LaLiga through the creation of a new company called ‘LaLiga Impulse’. In exchange for this injection, CVC will keep a figure close to 9% of audiovisual rights.
Someone without experience in sports is not going to arrive, who does not value LaLiga the same as CVC
The operation will be executed through the creation of a new company (‘LaLiga Impulse’) to which LaLiga will contribute all its businesses, subsidiaries and joint ventures and in which CVC will have a minority stake of 9% of the capital approximately. Additionally, CVC contributes funds to LaLiga through a participating account.
At first, both the transfer of audiovisual rights to CVC as the capital injection to LaLiga were going to be higher, with almost 11% in audiovisual rights and 2,700 million euros for the clubs, but the departure of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Club caused a drop in both figures.
Both speakers, Mayo and Arbide, confirmed to the media present that the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic “accelerated the agreement process” between both organizations. In addition, Arbide He highlighted the value of the competition and assured that “CVC is fixed in LaLiga for being a global asset with the two best clubs in the world.”
In the meeting, Oscar Mayo presented the deadlines in which the money will reach the clubs: “This October will reach 40%. From here, 20% will be distributed in each June of the next three years, thus reaching about 2,100 million euros.”
The objective of this investment, according to Arbide, is “to grow the competition by growing the teams’ own brand”. It is for this reason, according to both entities, that the 70% of the injection of money to each club will go to promote the growth of the clubs through new facilities, sports cities, acquisition of other clubs and related matters.
A 15% will go to debt reduction and the remaining 15% will go to transfers for three years, on the condition that the money invested in this section is recovered in the next four.
LaLiga, together with CVC, has drawn up a Club Development Plan that the teams will have to carry out and present to the employers. This plan will be supervised by the entity that presides Javier Tebas and advised, in turn, by external companies to help clubs get started. Each club has to develop a strategic plan on various areas, such as international development, branding, communication, sports strategy and digital, business, financial and legal development.
Real Madrid and Barcelona are not part of the agreement
Real Madrid and Barcelona are the two most important assets that LaLiga has at the moment. Juan Arbide, from CVC, praised the work carried out so far by both in terms of personal brand and product development (LaLiga), and stressed that despite “We would have loved” to have them “we trust that they will continue to do so well”, in this sense.
“The use of funds makes more sense for the rest of the teams. Madrid and Barcelona must be recognized for their work these years at the helm of LaLiga, but we would have loved to have them“, said.
