Not All Soccer Clubs Love Private Equity

Bundesliga teams are showing that not all soccer clubs are looking to make a deal.

On Wednesday, Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 squads voted to suspend talks with private investors for the leagues’ international media rights.

Firms including KKR, Bridgepoint, and CVC Capital were looking to purchase 25% of a new $2.4 billion media company that would hold the rights.

The rejection may indicate a general wariness toward private equity in some sports, due to its role in forwarding the disastrous Super League.

• Serie A president Paolo Dal Pino faced calls for his resignation from Juventus, Inter Milan, and five other league clubs over his initiative to sell 10% of the league’s media rights to private investors through a new company. 
• Silver Lake sparked backlash when it attempted to purchase 12.5% of future revenue generated by top New Zealand rugby team All Blacks for $288 million.
• Similar uproar has not reached the United States: The NBA, MLB, and MLS have all changed their rules in the last two years to allow for more private equity money.

As for the Bundesliga, it remains a defender of the status quo.

Its teams were among the most notable omissions from the dozen that attempted to start the Super League — a decision that quickly proved prescient.