HedgeCo.Net — New York-based Avenue Capital has emerged as the leading bidder for a minority stake in the company that will hold the international media rights of Italy’s Serie A, Reuters reported on Monday, citing two people with knowledge of the matter. Avenue is targeting a 10% stake for €320 million, a price that would value the venture at €3.2 billion.
Serie A is exploring the sale of a stake in a company that will hold its international broadcasting, sponsorship and betting rights, and it received final bids from private equity firms last month. League clubs met on Friday for an initial review of the offers, according to the report. Any deal requires the backing of at least 14 of the league’s 20 clubs, and the people cautioned that no final decision has been made.
Avenue is ahead even though some rivals offered more money, one of the people said, because its proposal is structured as a common equity investment without the protections on future cash flows sought by some competitors. Carlyle and Nextalia, which teamed up on a joint bid, offered around €650 million for a stake of roughly 17%, valuing the venture at about €3.75 billion, according to the report. Avenue Capital, Serie A, Carlyle and Nextalia declined to comment.
The structure question is the most instructive part of the process for allocators. Sports media rights deals have often been built with preferred returns or claims on future cash flows that give investors downside protection, and a league choosing a lower headline valuation in exchange for plain common equity signals how much leagues now value keeping control and avoiding senior claims on revenue. The size of the business also tempers the valuation debate: Serie A’s international media unit generates sales of around €250 million a year, a fraction of what the Premier League and LaLiga earn abroad, according to UEFA data cited by Reuters.
The clubs are expected to examine Avenue’s offer more closely in the coming weeks. Investors will watch whether the bid secures the 14-club threshold and whether the final terms keep the common-equity structure that has put Avenue in front.