September 15: Series A’s latest attempt to bring private capital to its trading business has attracted around ten bidders, with JP Morgan now starting the job of trimming the field.
The bank met Serie A management on Monday after receiving bids earlier this month for a minority stake in a new company holding the league’s international media rights, overseas sponsorship and betting-related businesses.
Italian channel Milano Finanza reports that the list includes Bain Capital, Oaktree, Carlyle, Nextalia, Blackstone, General Atlantic, Avenue Capital, Partners Group, Bright Path, Clessidra and FSI, with some bidding structures understood to include more than one fund.
Series A is considering selling between 10% and 20% of the new company while retaining control. Reuters previously valued the business at between 3 billion and 4 billion euros, with annual revenue of around 250 million euros and around 200 million euros in core profits.
That would put a minority investment somewhere in the hundreds of millions, depending on where the negotiations go. Milano Finanza has also reported that some offers have valued the business more aggressively, with the league hoping an outside partner could help boost international revenue “significantly”.
Serie A has struggled to close the gap between the Premier League and LaLiga abroad, where competition for broadcaster money has become tougher and the expanded Champions League has added even more premium football to the schedule.
This time, the league is deliberately keeping its most valuable national television business out of the deal.
Oaktree stands out among the bidders as it has owned Inter Milan since 2024, meaning any move by the fund to the central Serie A commercial operation would inevitably pay more attention to how the investment is structured and governed.
The project goes before Serie A clubs for discussion today, although a final decision is not expected immediately. Milano Finanza says the deals vary considerably and the league could still choose a specialist commercial agency rather than sell equity to a fund. Any eventual private equity deal would need the support of at least 14 of the 20 clubs, with a vote expected in November.
Serie A came close to selling 10% of a wider media business to a consortium led by CVC for €1.7bn in 2021, only for the deal to collapse when enough clubs withdrew their support.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at (email protected)