According to Bloomberg, several big names in the Wall Street sports investment business came out with a plan to tackle racist abuse in Italian soccer while helping Serie A increase its value.
In the last few months, at least four Private Equity firms – Advent International, Bain Capital, Cinven Ltd., and CVC Capital Partners – have expressed their interest in buying a minority stake in the Serie A shares. According to the Financial Times, CVC Capital Partners and Blackstone are both in separate negotiations over investments in Serie A.
CVC Capital Partners is reportedly negotiating to purchase a minority stake of around 20% of Serie A for $2.2 billion, valuing the entire league at about $10.8 billion.
Their investment plan is to bid for a share in Lega Servizi, a subsidiary company of Serie A – to purchase the league’s main asset, the lucrative broadcasting TV rights.
Last month Italian Soccer giant AS Roma officially announced that the Friedkin Group, a consortium run by U.S. billionaire Dan Friedkin, took over the majority of the club.
At least two of these potential investors “see taking steps to curb racist game-day behavior as the key to building a media product sellable around the world”, Bloomberg revealed.
Tackling overt racism in the stands would be the turning point to increase the worth of the league’s broadcast rights as well as the financial value of the clubs.
According to the 2020 Annual Review of Football Finance by professional services firm Deloitte, Serie A ranked fourth out of the five biggest European leagues by revenue.
In the 2018/2019 season, the Italian league recorded a profit less than half of that reported by the wealthier British Premier League, at just under $2.5 billion.
Additionally, building better stadiums and improving the (post-Covid) match-day experience of fans will also contribute to enhancing the product – and hence, investors’ profit.
In order to tackle the issue, Serie A has created an office specifically to combat all forms of discrimination together with UNAR, Italy’s anti-racism agency.
The aim is to “develop a strategy that will be implemented concretely in the 2020/2021 season”.
Additionally, AC Milan CEO Ivan Gazidis invited Paul Elliott, chair of the English Football Association’s Inclusion Advisory Board, to be part of an anti-racism working group with officials from top Serie A clubs such as AS Roma, Juventus, and FC Inter.
Tackling racism in Italian soccer is certainly a cyclopic endeavor – given the magnitude of the issue – but the former Arsenal chief executive was positive about the outcome.
“It’s all there waiting to happen, and I think that the international investors that are coming into Italian football see these possibilities very clearly”, said Gazidis.
Hopefully, the next season will see a fresh start for a new Serie A in which there is no place for racism in the stands.
Source: Forbes
