This paper investigates the role of private equity investments in professional football clubs, a phenomenon that has been growing in recent years.
The results of the work conducted confirm the impact of private equity not only in terms football clubs financial results, but also as a force for change on the entire industry. The qualitative analysis conducted makes it possible to identify the criteria by which ideal target companies are identified. The quantitative analysis introduces an original calculation formula to determine the value of a football club. Its application is shown on a sample of football clubs.
The study is of particular relevance because it offers insights into the effectiveness of the private equity channel in stimulating investment in professional football. Indeed, fostering an understanding of the effects of such investment is key to encouraging changes that maximize the benefits of private equity players' entry and mitigate the potential risks.
References
Amess K., Girma S., Wright M. (2014). The wage and employment consequences of ownership change. Managerial and Decision Economics, 35(2): 161-171. DOI: 10.1002/mde.2650.
Balboa M., Martí J. (2007). Factors that determine the reputation of private equity managers in developing markets. Journal of Business Venturing, 22(4): 453-480. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2006.05.004.
Bernstein S. (2022). The Effects of Public and Private Equity Markets on Firm Behavior. Annual Review of Financial Economics, 14. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-financial-052021-072939.
Breuer C., Rohde M. (2016). Europe’s elite football: financial growth, sporting success, transfer investment and private majority investors. Institute of Sport Economics and Sport Management, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne.
Browndorf C. (2021). A new kind of pitch: the rise of sports-dedicated private equity funds and the future of the single entity defense. Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal, 28(2).
Caselli S., Negri G. (2021). Private equity and venture capital in Europe: markets, techniques, and deals. Academic Press.
Casey J., Marino G. (2020). A new game in town: the rise of private equity and institutional investment in sport. Foley and Lardner, LLP.
Cumming D., Kumar S., Lim W.M., Pandey N. (2022). Mapping the venture capital and private equity research: a bibliometric review and future research agenda. Small Business Economics, 1-49. DOI: 10.1007/s11187-022-00684-9.
Damodaran A. (2012). Investment Valuation: Tools and Techniques for Determining the Value of Any Asset (3rd edition), New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Davis S.J., Haltiwanger J., Handley K., Jarmin R., Lerner J., Miranda J. (2014), Private Equity, Jobs, and Productivity. American Economic Review, 104(12): 3956-3990. DOI: 10.1257/aer.104.12.3956.
Deloitte (2021). Annual review of football finance. Deloitte Sports Business Group.
Deloitte (2022). Football Money League. Deloitte Sport Business Group.
Deepak D., Bradbury T., O’Boyle I. (2017). Understanding sport management – international perspectives. Sport management review, 21(1): 98-99. DOI: 10.1016/j.smr.2017.07.009.
Dyrda S., Pugsley B. (2018). Taxes, private equity, and evolution of income inequality in the us. Working paper.
De Maeseneire W., Brinkhuis S. (2012). What drives leverage in leveraged buy-outs? An analysis of European leveraged buyouts’ capital structure. Accounting & Finance, 52: 155-182. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.1343871.
Gammelsæter H. (017). Media visibility and place reputation: does sport make a difference? Journal of Place Management and Development, 10(3): 288-298. DOI: 10.1108/JPMD-01-2017-0004.
Gompers P., Gornall W., Kaplan N., Strebulaev I. (2016). How do venture capitalists make decisions? Journal of Financial Economics, 135(1): 169-190. DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2019.06.011.
Guatri L., Bini M. (2009). Nuovo trattato sulla valutazione delle aziende, Milano: Egea.
Harris R.S., Jenkinson T., Kaplan S.N. (2014). Private equity performance: What do we know? The Journal of Finance, 69(5): 1851-1882. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn. 1932316.
Hayduk T., Walker M. (2018). Mapping the strategic factor market for sport entrepreneurship. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 14(3): 705-724. DOI: 10.1007/s11365-017-0482-3.
Jensen M.C., Ruback R.S. (1983). The market for corporate control: The scientific evidence. Journal of Financial Economics, 11(1-4): 5-50. DOI: 10.1016/0304-405X(83)90004-1.
Jensen M.C. (1989). Eclipse of the Public Corporation. Harvard Business Review, 67(5): 61-74.
Johnson V. (2021). Sports TV. New York: Routledge.
Kaiser L. (2004). The flight from single entity structured sport leagues. De Paul Journal of Sport Law, 2(1).
Kaplan N., Schoar A. (2005). Private Equity Returns: Persistence and Capital Flows. Journal of Finance, 60(4): 1791-1823. DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6261.2005.00780.x.
Kaplan N., Stromberg P. (2009). Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 23(1): 121-146. DOI: 10.1257/jep.23.1.121.
Karen D., Washington R. (2001). Sport and society. Annual Review of Sociology, 27(1): 187-212. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.187.
Koba T. (2021). Private Equity and Venture Capital in Sport: Who is Receiving Funding and What Factors Influence Funding. The Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, 22(2): 30-44. DOI: 10.57229/2373-1761.1387.
Korteweg A., Sorensen M. (2017). Skill and luck in private equity performance. Journal of Financial Economics, 124(3): 535-562. DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2017.03.006.
KPMG (2021). The European Elite 2021, Football clubs valuation: dribbling around Covid-19. KPMG Sports Advisory.
Markham T. (2013). What is the optimal method to value a football club? UK: ICMA Centre, Henley Business School, University of Reading. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2238265.
Miragaia D., Ferreira J., Ratten V. (2017). Corporate social responsibility and social entrepreneurship: drivers of sports sponsorship policy. International Journal of Sport Policy & Politics, 9(4): 613-623. DOI: 10.1007/s12208-015-0131-x.
Ozanian M. (2022). Chelsea FC valued $3.09 billion in sale to group led by Todd Boehly. Forbes. -- Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2022/ 05/09/chelsea-fc-valued-at-309-billion-in-sale-to-group-led-by-todd-boehly/?sh=28da875b76af. May 9, 2022.
Poli R., L. Ravenel, R. Besson (2021). The economics of big-5 league transfers: past decade and post pandemic. CIES football observatory monthly report, 67.
Ramsinghani M. (2014). The business of venture capitalism. John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, NJ.
Ratten V., Tajeddini K. (2019). Entrepreneurship and sport business research: Synthesis and lessons: Introduction to the special journal issue. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 19(1/2): 1-7.
Sass M. (2016). Glory hunter, sugar daddies and long-term competitive balance under UEFA Financial Fair Play. Journal of Sport Economy, 17(2): 148-158. DOI: 10.1177/1527002514526412.
Scelles N., Helleu B., Durand C., Bonnal L. (2013). Determinants of professional sports firm values in the United States and Europe: A comparison between sports over the period 2004-2011. International Journal of Sport Finance, 8(4): 280-293.
Scelles N., Helleu B., Durand C., Bonnal L. (2016). Professional Sports Firm Values: Bringing New Determinants to the Foreground? A Study of European Soccer, 2005-2013. Journal of Sport Economics, 17(7): 688-715. DOI: 10.1177/1527002514538976.
Schenewark T. (2021). Barbarians at the Ticket Gate: Private Equity’s Arrival in American Sports Leagues (April 13, 2021). Comparative Law Yearbook of International Business. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3825319.
Tiscini R., Dello Strologo A. (2016). What drives the value of football clubs: An approach based on private and socio-emotional benefits. Corporate Ownership and Control, 14(1): 673-683. DOI: 10.22495/cocv14i1c4art14.