MILAN: Large private equity funds have teamed up to bid for a minority stake in a firm holding Serie A broadcasting rights, two sources familiar with the matter said, leaving Italy's top soccer clubs at a crossroads regarding the future of their vital media business.
Sources say private equity firms CVC Capital Partners, Advent International and Italy's state-backed fund FSI tabled a joint offer ahead of a deadline that expired on Friday. Both offers target a 10per cent stake in the new company to which Serie A would transfer its broadcasting rights for 10 seasons, a venture which private equity investors have valued at 13-15 billion euros.More than half of Serie A revenues come from broadcasting rights, but it lags the financial heavyweights of England's Premier League, La Liga in Spain and the German Bundesliga.