Serie A delays decision on selling media stake by a week

The Italian soccer league on Thursday postponed its final decision on whether to sell a stake in its media business.

Serie A’s 20 clubs voted unanimously in November to accept a 1.7 billion euro ($2 billion) offer from a consortium of private equity funds that will be charged with improving the sale and promotion of the league’s TV rights.

The consortium featuring CVC Capital Partners, Advent International and FSI will control 10% of the league’s new media company.

The Serie A assembly on Thursday was due to approve the final term sheet of the agreement but the decision was pushed back by a week after the league’s president, Paolo Dal Pino, said there were two points that still had to be agreed on. He would not go into further details, just adding that they were “legal matters and for the lawyers.”

Dal Pino said he was confident the deal will go through. Serie A is badly in need of of cash amid the coronavirus crisis.

“I don’t see it at all as putting the brakes on, its simply that we need to do things well,” Dal Pino said. “We need to follow the right timetable and procedures so that this comes about.”

Once the contracts are signed, the first order of business will be selling TV rights for the next three seasons.

The league also needs to determine how to divide the money between the 20 clubs.

Image credits: AP