The fan base of many clubs is against any investor deals.
(Photo: IMAGO/Matthias Koch)
Frankfurt The German Football League (DFL) has received four promising offers from financial investors for the controversial sale of media rights. Out of a total of six applicants, one only bid for part of the rights, said DFL Managing Director Axel Hellmann on Thursday at a press conference in Frankfurt.
The offer of another interested party was “far behind” behind the others. At an extraordinary DFL general meeting on May 24, he will therefore propose to the 36 professional clubs in the first and second Bundesliga that the offers of this field of four be examined more closely, said Hellmann.
The 51-year-old is spokesman of the board of Eintracht Frankfurt Fußball AG and has been managing the DFL on an interim basis with his colleague Oliver Leki from SC Freiburg since the end of 2022. Neither wanted to comment on the names of the bidders. According to financial sources, Blackstone, KKR, EQT, Advent, CVC and Bridgepoint had submitted offers.
It is currently planned to sell 12.5 percent of the media rights to the Bundesliga for a period of 20 years, said Leki. He expects revenue of around two billion euros. These should be used to make the Bundesliga more competitive in an international comparison.
Around 750 million euros of the income will flow directly to the umbrella organization DFL, which organizes the first and second Bundesliga. Among other things, the DFL wants to set up a digital platform for the independent marketing of the Bundesliga. Streaming services for private customers could also be offered.
>> Read here: League association DFL wants to sell fewer shares in the media rights
“The need for action is initially international,” said Hellmann. In some regions of the world, the Bundesliga has no or no satisfactory media partnerships. In addition, it is a strategic advantage when bidding for media rights if you have your own alternative in the case of unconvincing bids.
Many fans and clubs are critical of the plans
The rest of the expected income of around 1.25 billion euros is to be distributed to the clubs in the first and second Bundesliga. The clubs should receive 300 million euros of this at their free disposal, the other 950 million euros should be earmarked.
Among other things, the clubs should improve their work with young people and their digital infrastructure. In addition, the international visibility of the clubs should be increased, for example through friendly matches abroad or offers for English or Spanish-speaking fans.
“So we don’t flood the market with money that goes to consultants and players,” said Leki. However, clubs that already have the appropriate infrastructure could freely dispose of the earmarked part of the funds.
When distributing the funds, the DFL wants to be based on the existing distribution key for media income. The sporting performance of the clubs plays the most important role here.
The interim boss of the DFL wants to complete the investor process by the summer.
(Photo: IMAGO/Jan Huebner)
However, it is currently still uncertain whether there will be an investor deal at all. At the general meeting in three weeks, two thirds of the 36 clubs – i.e. 24 clubs – would have to agree.
But the entry of financial investors into the German football business is just as controversial among the fans as it is among the clubs. So far, there have been major reservations, especially among the second division clubs. Among the first division clubs, FC Augsburg and 1. FC Köln are considered opponents of the deal. “Money and commerce should be a means to an end so that the game works better, but not the other way around,” says Cologne manager Christian Keller.
If necessary, Hellmann wants to stay on board longer
Hellmann and Leki want to present their plans to the clubs in detail in the coming weeks and have many individual talks. If the green light is given, further negotiations will be held with three or four financial investors and the number of bidders may then be reduced to two, said Hellmann.
The aim is to get “the best possible offer” in direct competition. Final decisions could then be made at a general meeting in early July.
Hellmann announced earlier this week that he would stay with Eintracht Frankfurt and not permanently switch to DFL as managing director. Leki and Hellmann’s contracts as managing directors of the DFL are limited to June 30th.
“It has been discussed that Oliver Leki will retire on June 30th. resigns from the interim management,” said Hellmann. He himself had promised DFL supervisory board chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke that if necessary he would remain on board until September 30, until the investor process was completed. “I hope, however, that this will not be necessary and that we have concluded before then.”
More: Bundesliga is looking for investors – these are the six bidders