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A New York-based financial services company is looking to bolster the media arm of Italy’s top soccer league.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reportedly expressed “preliminary interest” in financing Serie A’s media business with between $761 million and $1.1 billion in bank financing. Italy’s top domestic league is preparing to sell domestic and international media rights in 2024.
JPMorgan’s potential investment follows a plan by Serie A to spin off an upcoming media unit to boost revenue after the league failed to sell a 10% stake worth $2 billion to three investors in 2021. In October 2022, Serie A began the formal process of creating the media unit.
- Private equity firm Searchlight Capital has expressed interest in the media business.
- Apollo Global Management has also considered an investment.
- On Feb. 24, all of Serie A’s 20 clubs will meet to evaluate JPMorgan’s proposal.
In 2022, Serie A announced plans to triple its international media rights revenue by 2030. The league is set to pocket $658 million from international media rights between 2021 and 2024.
Serie A generated $2.4 billion in total revenue during the 2020-21 season, per Deloitte.
Under Fire
Two Serie A clubs have recently been shrouded in controversy.
Earlier this month, Italy’s soccer federation penalized Juventus with a 15-point reduction for fixing balance sheets with false gains from player transfers, while AC Milan is being investigated for alleged embezzlement following the $1.3 billion sale of the club to RedBird Capital Partners.
