Offers To Sell Marketing Shares For “Bundesliga”

The German Football League invited five investors to submit offers to buy a share of the marketing rights for the local competition. According to a letter from the league addressed to 36 professional clubs, investors are expected to pay between 900 million and 1 billion euros ($981 million-$1.1 billion) to the German League over the next few years. The letter stated that the potential strategic partners involved are Advent, Blackstone, Bridgepoint, CVC, and EQT. The association added that these partners can contribute to supporting its national media product and expanding its digital and international business. The association expects initial offers from at least four of these investors at the beginning of next December. The German League clubs are scheduled to vote during a general meeting on December 11 to move forward with the plan. A two-thirds majority is required for approval. Under this reverse tender, investors will acquire a maximum of 8 percent in a newly founded marketing company for a period of 20 years for more than one billion euros. The marketing company will own the television broadcasting, advertising and digital rights for the German League. The letter states that this plan is linked to “ensuring the competitive sporting and economic status of the country’s leagues.” This is the third attempt by the German League to sell a stake in the ownership rights, as a previous proposal last May failed to obtain the clubs’ support. 20 clubs voted to approve allowing foreign investors to buy the association's media rights, 11 rejected the proposal, and five members abstained from voting at a meeting that took place in Frankfurt, so the proposal failed at the time because it did not obtain a two-thirds majority. Under the new proposal, the investor should not have any say in drawing up the sports or league's management plan, and the German Bundesliga should have the power to decide who runs the new marketing company. The German First Division is ranked as the second largest football league in Europe in terms of revenue after the English Premier League.