Insider report
Blackstone is about to withdraw from the Bundesliga bidding process
Fans protest with a banner against the awarding of media rights to CVC and Blackstone
© Swen Pförtner / DPA
The German Football League is threatened with a setback in its planned media rights partnership. According to a media report, financial investor Blackstone is threatening to pull out – as a result of the hesitant attitude of some clubs.
According to an insider, the Bundesliga is in danger of losing one of its two remaining candidates for the planned media rights partnership. The USFinancial investor Blackstone is considering withdrawing from the bidding process, an insider familiar with the considerations told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday. The reason is the hesitation of some club officials, who threatened to prolong the process further.
This would make the investment company CVC the last contender for a stake of up to eight percent in a DFL subsidiary to exploit Bundesliga media rights. Blackstone did not want to comment on this; the German Football League (DFL) could not initially be reached for comment.
Fans protested against investors joining the DFL
The Bloomberg news agency was the first to report on the possible turnaround at Blackstone. According to insiders, CVC and Blackstone recently offered around one billion euros for the rights stake, thus outdoing their Swedish rival EQT. However, there were concerns among the clubs about CVC, which was considered the favorite, because CVC is already involved in football in a similar way in France and Spain. The decision should be made by the end of March.
The president of VfB Stuttgart, Claus Vogt, had called for a new vote among the 36 German first and second division clubs after doubts arose about the outcome of the first vote. With 24 yes votes, the DFL had just achieved the required two-thirds majority.
Fans had repeatedly disrupted Bundesliga games in recent weeks with protests against the entry of an investor, which resulted in long interruptions. “It’s a messy situation,” said the insider. If you include the first, failed attempt, the bidding process has now dragged on for more than a year and a half.