DLA Piper advises on EUR108 million refinancing of Sevilla FC

DLA Piper has advised several institutional investors on the EUR108 million media financing package for Sevilla FC in a move to consolidate the club’s financial stability in the short, medium and long term, allowing it to undertake its future strategic plans with full effectiveness.

The financing consists of:

• 10-year USD65 million and EUR28 million investment-grade-rated term loan facilities; and
• a five-year term loan totalling EUR20 million.

The loan facilities were secured by the Club’s media revenue generation and advanced by global institutional investors and bank lenders. The loan facilities will allow Sevilla FC to expand its revenues across a range of business functions including digital transformation, marketing, physical and online retail, and ongoing management of its current infrastructure.

The cross-jurisdictional team was led by London-based partners from DLA Piper’s Finance practice, Paul Gray and Lewis Gaut, together with Juan Gelabert Chasco, based in Spain.

Paul Gray – who is head of the International Sports Finance practice - said: “We are delighted to have assisted our clients and the team at Sevilla FC with this transaction, allowing them to effectively and efficiently realise their strategic growth plans. The deal is another example of DLA Piper’s knowledge and experience structuring and documenting complex and innovative finance transactions in the sports sector.”

DLA Piper’s European Sports Finance team is part of the firm’s Media, Sports, and Entertainment sector, co-chaired by Peter White, who is one of the firm’s key client relationship partners for Goldman Sachs and other significant sports clients globally.

DLA Piper has previously advised on a number of groundbreaking transactions in the sporting world, including the recent EUR385 million refinancing of Olympique Lyonnais Group, EUR1.45 billion financing of FC Barcelona’s Spotify Camp Nou and the financing of FC Barcelona’s media rights (and FCB’s sale of certain other La Liga media rights to Sixth Street).