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CVC Capital Partners is exploring a potential refinancing of its sporting portfolio that would value a collection of assets ranging from English rugby and women’s tennis to Indian cricket and Spanish football at more than £9bn.
The Amsterdam-listed firm has long been one of the most active private equity players in the world of sport, beginning in the late 1990s when it pushed into motorsport by buying MotoGP. It later owned Formula 1, which became one of its most profitable investments when it sold it to Liberty Media in 2016 for more than $8bn.
CVC’s current holdings include stakes in the commercial operations of Six Nations Rugby, the Women’s Tennis Association and volleyball’s global governing body. It also has a minority stake in the Gujarat Titans cricket franchise, and paid €3.5bn for a share in the broadcast and sponsorship income of the Spanish and French football leagues.
The firm has picked Goldman Sachs, PJT Partners and Raine Group to manage a plan to borrow against the combined assets, which will be brought together in a new entity dubbed SportsCo valued at more than £9bn, according to a person familiar with the matter.
While the different portfolio companies will remain independent, CVC hopes to bring more cohesion to its various sports properties, the person added, such as through sharing best practice and seeking joint opportunities.
CVC declined to comment. News of the refinancing plan was first reported by Sky News.
Sport has been attracting growing interest from private equity firms keen to gain exposure to rising income streams from broadcast and sponsorship.
Team valuations in many sports have also been climbing rapidly. Last month the owners of the LA Lakers agreed to sell the basketball franchise for $10bn, a new record for the sports industry.
While CVC was an early mover, several US-based firms including Ares Management, Sixth Street, Silver Lake, RedBird and Arctos have invested billions in the sector in recent years.
Some of the assets in CVC’s portfolio have faced a bumpy few years. Premiership Rugby, the top tier of English professional rugby union, suffered a financial crisis during the pandemic, which resulted in three of its then 13 clubs going bust. However, league executives believe the competition has turned a corner and is set to grow in the coming years.
The French football league has also endured a challenging 18 months after a botched broadcast rights auction led to a steep drop in TV income. It is now planning to launch its own streaming service to offer live matches direct to consumers, and is discussing a possible overhaul of its governance structure.
