Spain's top football league La Liga has agreed to sell a 10 per cent stake for €2.7 billion ($3.21bn) to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners.
The deal values La Liga at around €24.25bn ($28.8bn) and requires the approval of the league’s 20-member football clubs that include Barcelona and Real Madrid, which could benefit from the liquidity boost.
If approved, the investment will be a boon to the league after the Covid-19 pandemic shut down stadiums and clubs incurred billions of dollars in lost revenue.
"The objective of this agreement is to lead the transformation that the entertainment world is experiencing and to maximise all the growth opportunities that the clubs have to develop a new business model that allows them to diversify and intensify income generation and marketing models," La Liga said in a statement on Wednesday.
It said accelerating its digital transformation and moving from the current mono-product model, which is based almost exclusively on the game and the sale of audiovisual rights, to a multi-product and multi-experiential model that has a direct relationship with fans will help the league become a global company with the best entertainment content.
About 90 per cent of the funds raised will be directed to clubs, which must use them to finance investment programmes agreed upon with La Liga.
Spain's La Liga is the second-most lucrative football league in the world after the English Premier League, according to Fitch Ratings. Total domestic and international TV rights increased to €2.03bn ($2.4bn) a year in the last tender for 2021 to 2023, from €1.38bn in the previous 2016 to 2019 cycle.
"The high level of contracted broadcast revenue is reflective of strong fan and corporate support, including during stress years. The league has a moderate-to-high percentage of shared revenue across competing teams," said the rating agency.
The second-tier league Segunda receives 10 per cent of the revenue distribution, with the remaining 90 per cent going to La Liga, according to Fitch estimates.
Half of the 90 per cent is distributed equally between the league's teams, with 25 per cent allocated according to results from the previous five seasons, and the last 25 per cent based on figures that include the number of TV subscribers and viewers per match.
La Liga has no definite wage cap and its player-salary structure does not promote equal opportunity between the clubs when it comes to talent acquisition, according to Fitch.
"The same two to three teams, which earn and therefore spend significantly more on players than the remaining 17 to 18 teams, tend to compete for the prized top four positions that qualify for the group stage of the lucrative Uefa Champions League," said Fitch.
Argentine forward Lionel Messi, who was the highest-paid player last year with $126 million in earnings, according to Forbes, was a free agent as of July 1 after he failed to reach an agreement on the renewal of his Barcelona contract, which expired on June 30.
Messi, 34, subsequently signed a five-year contract extension with the club last month but took a 50 per cent pay cut.
CVC has been a major investor in sports over the past 25 years. In March, the private equity firm entered into a partnership with Six Nations Rugby that aims to further develop the Six Nations Championships & Autumn International series.
As part of the deal, through one of its funds, CVC is investing £365m ($508m) in Six Nations Rugby.
The London-based private equity firm also has a 28 per cent share in the Guinness PRO14 rugby union competition.
In February, CVC entered into a partnership with the International Volleyball Federation to launch Volleyball World, with the goal of boosting investment in volleyball globally.
Volleyball is the fourth-most popular sport globally and was the most-watched sport at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, with 2.6 billion viewer hours around the world, according to a CVC statement
In 2006, CVC acquired a controlling stake in Formula One and built up its position in the group before Liberty Media bought the franchise for $8bn in 2017.
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
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Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
FIXTURES
December 28
Stan Wawrinka v Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 29 - semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Stan Wawrinka / Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Milos Raonic / Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 30
3rd/4th place play-off, 5pm
Final, 7pm
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting
- Don’t do it more than once in three days
- Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days
- Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode
- Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well
- Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
- Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Rawat Al Reef, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Noof KB, Richard Mullen, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Seven Skies, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qaiss Aboud
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Jabalini, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm: UAE Arabian Derby – Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Dergham Athbah, Richard Mullen, Mohamed Daggash
7.30pm: Emirates Championship – Group 1 (PA) Dh1,000,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
8pm: Abu Dhabi Championship – Group 3 (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Irish Freedom, Antonio Fresu, Satish Seemar
Results
2.15pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Arrab, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.45pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Mahaleel, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel.
3.15pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum handicap (TB) Dh200,000 2,000m; Winner: Dolmen, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
3.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Amang Alawda, Sandro Paiva, Bakhit Al Ketbi.
4.15pm: The Crown Prince of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 1,200m; Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
4.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m; Winner: Al Jazi, Jesus Rosales, Eric Lemartinel.
RESULTS
6.30pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Final Song, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m
Winner Almanaara, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Grand Argentier, Brett Doyle, Doug Watson.
8.15pm Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Major Partnership, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner Universal Order, Richard Mullen, David Simcock.
MATCH INFO
First Test at Barbados
West Indies won by 381 runs
Second Test at Antigua
West Indies won by 10 wickets
Third Test at St Lucia
February 9-13
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Mumbai Indians 213/6 (20 ov)
Royal Challengers Bangalore 167/8 (20 ov)
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Concrete and Gold
Foo Fighters
RCA records
