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By Eddie Moran
Private equity firms Advent International and BC Partners have approached Germany’s DFL sporting organization about the possibility of acquiring a minority stake in Bundesliga International GmbH, which manages the media rights for Germany’s top two soccer divisions.
DFL officials will meet on Dec. 7 to discuss if they will pursue a sale process. Outside of Advent International and BC Partners, other potential bidders include:
- Bain Capital
- CVC Capital Partners
- General Atlantic
- KKR & Co.
Bundesliga bucks: Home to 2020 Champions League winner FC Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga’s international broadcast rights are valued at $285 million annually, according to Deloitte. Domestic rights were recently sold at a discount in the last sales cycle, and the DFL lost a deal with Middle Eastern broadcaster BeIN Sports in September worth about $237 million.
DFL isn’t the only soccer league shopping around media deals. This month saw Italy’s Serie A sell 10% of a new media company to Advent and CVC for roughly $2 billion. Vincent Labrune, president of French professional soccer’s governing body, recently suggested that France’s Ligue 1 is also considering creating a subsidiary to manage its commercial rights.
