Sixth Street, the US fund that sealed an agreement with Real Madrid in May to contribute 360 million euros that will turn the Santiago Bernabeu into a multifunctional space, is the firm with which Barça has reached an agreement in principle to sell the 10 percent of its television rights for 25 years in exchange for 205 million euros. By activating this lever, the entity will avoid closing the year with losses for the third consecutive year. But to go to the transfer market, he will have to continue working hard during the month of July to activate the rest of the levers: the sale of another 15 percent of television rights and up to 49.9 percent of his marketing company, BLM.
Beyond Real Madrid, this American fund also has Spotify in its client portfolio, Barça's main sponsor as of July 1, although its website above all boasts of its link with the renewable energy business, a sector that shares with the company Audax whose vice-president is also the economic vice-president of FC Barcelona, Eduard Romeu.
As this newspaper has learned, the agreement will be closed on Wednesday at the Camp Nou offices after part of the board of directors has been working against the clock all weekend after having rejected the Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and CVC.
The board ruled out agreeing with CVC outside the LaLiga Impulso project due to the possible conflict of interest that it could entail for LaLiga, chaired by Javier Tebas. He also refused to settle with Goldman Sachs as the investment banking group was pushing too hard on terms. It should be remembered that he currently owns 11% of the television rights as a guarantee for the 525 million euro credit to be repaid in 15 years that was approved at the June 2021 assembly and that served to meet the most immediate financial needs of the club such as the payment of player salaries.
Activating this economic lever will help Barça to close the year without losses. But it is not enough to increase the salary limit of the squad that allows Barça to go to the transfer market. For that there is still a lot of work to do. During the month of July, the club will work to activate the sale of another 15 percent of the television rights for which it hopes to earn another 300 million. The sale of up to 49.9 percent of BLM will also continue to be negotiated. This operation is, for the moment, on 'stand by' after the negotiations with the company Fanatics and Investindustrial, which proposed an injection of 200 million euros, have stalled.
The operation fell through due to Laporta's demand not to want to give up so much power in management. One of the red lines that the directive requires is that at the moment in which the benefits reach a value set by the board, Barça can repurchase the part sold. Experts point out that it will be difficult to sell this asset due to the complexity of its structure and the fact that there are stores like the one at Camp Nou that generate a lot of income and others that are in deficit.
It is an investment fund that was founded in 2009. At the helm is Alan Waxman, former CEO of Goldman Sachs. Headquartered in San Francisco, with more than 400 staff members, it operates from nine offices around the world: New York, London, Hong Kong, Dallas, Houston, Luxembourg, Melbourne and Boston. It has 60,000 million euros in assets under management and extensive experience in investments in sports and infrastructure.
This fund sealed an alliance with Real Madrid last May. It contributed 360 million euros that the club can allocate to any of the activities to turn the Bernabeu into a world benchmark for leisure and entertainment. In exchange, Sixth Street will take up to 30 percent of the Bernabeu's income for 20 years and will be able to participate in the exploitation of certain new businesses. This agreement was also closed with the company Legends, a company specialized in the management of stadiums and their experiences. .
Beyond Real Madrid, Sixth Street owns 20 percent of the US basketball team San Antonio Spurs, one of the most successful in the NBA. Spotify, the main sponsor of FC Barcelona from July 1, also appears in his client portfolio. He is also a shareholder of the vacation rental firm Airbnb where he invested 900 million euros between debt and capital in 2020 to help the company face the pandemic. Last year he also bought five coastal hotels in Spain for 85 million euros located in the towns of Benidorm (Alicante), Roquetas (Almería), Lloret de Mar (Girona) and Salou (Tarragona).
