Atletico Madrid agreed to a $216.9 million capital increase with U.S. investment manager Ares Management.
Ares will receive a 33.96% stake in Spain’s LaLiga champions.
Atletico’s debt reportedly reached $1.2 billion following the 2019-20 season, however, investing in Atletico could pay off. LaLiga was the only top-five league in Europe to report positive results last season.
The league generated record revenue of $5.96 billion in 2019-2020, compared to $5.32 billion the season before.
Ares has approximately $227 billion in assets under management and has previously attempted to establish itself within the world’s most popular sport.
- Last year, the investment manager backed Kapital Football Group, a soccer-focused holding company, during its attempt to acquire Southampton FC.
- Failure to agree to a price with club majority owner Gao Jisheng forced KFG and Ares to look elsewhere.
- KFG and Ares are also considering investments in clubs from Brazil, Portugal, and Belgium.
ESPN recently reached an eight-year broadcasting rights deal for all 380 LaLiga matches per season, with coverage slated to kick off in August 2021.
LaLiga is also home to Barcelona FC — the only sports team to surpass $1 billion in annual revenue — despite financial woes from the pandemic and the highest salary bill in Europe.
