December 8 – The Bundesliga will suffer a drop in revenue of a €1 billion this season if fans remain shut out of attending matches because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to German Football League (DFL) projections.
To mitigate the situation, the DFL has said that a partial stake in the rights to its overseas TV sales will be offered to private equity investors in February. A 10-25% stake will made available in a newly created company to manage the broadcast rights outside of Germany.
DFL chief Christian Seifert said that last season the Bundesliga had been hit by a drop in turnover of €250 million or about 6% because of the coronavirus, which forced football to shut down in March and then to return behind closed doors.
Even with various vaccines being rolled out around the world, the picture remains sombre for German football for the current 2020/21 season with the DFL predicting a “a total turnover loss of €1 billion or about 20%” as a combination of a €650 million loss in ticketing and matchday revenues as well as another €250 million drop in transfer revenues and a drop in commercial income.
With revenue dropping across the board, Seifert described last season as being like a “gentle breeze” compared to the current situation.
Italy’s Serie A has similarly moved to raise money via the sale of a stake in its media business – in their case €1.7 billion from private equity consortium CVC partners. With investment bank Nomura reportedly handling the deal for the DFL, Bain, BC Partners, Blackstone and Bridgepoint are reportedly among those to have come forward with expressions of interest.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1713915289labto1713915289ofdlr1713915289owedi1713915289sni@o1713915289fni1713915289