- Content Creation Split: FC Barcelona Plans Blank-Check Merger and IPO for US Media Unit
- Valuable Move: Merger to Value Combined Company at $1 Billion, Boosting Original Content Financing
- Strategic Expansion: Barca Media’s Global Fan Engagement and Revenue Streams to Benefit from Merger
FC Barcelona has announced its intention to separate off its content creation business in the United States through a blank-check merger and an initial public offering.
The Spanish football powerhouse announced on Friday that the special purpose acquisition firm Mountain & Co had consented to list its Barca Media subsidiary on the Nasdaq.
It was stated that the merger would value the combined company at approximately $1 billion (£790 million) and provide access to capital that can be used to finance original content.
Barc Media will be led by Toni Cruz, a seasoned Spanish media industry executive, following the deal’s anticipated completion in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The division is responsible for producing all audio-visual, digital, and e-sports content, spanning from interviews to highlights, that is distributed through the social media channels of the football club.
Barcelona is not only one of the most valuable sports teams in the world but also has one of the largest social media followings, with 122 million Instagram followers.
The president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, stated that Barca Media’s content “has proven to be extraordinarily valuable, resonating well and driving meaningful engagement with our growing global fanbase while generating new revenue streams.”
He added, “This step is a strategic decision that will provide us with additional resources to continue expanding the platform at a time when demand for sports-themed digital content is growing exponentially.
Barcelona also announced on Friday that it would sell LIBERO Football Finance a minority stake in the technology portal Barca Vision for €120 million.
This comes two days after the Catalan club agreed to sell a 49 percent stake in Barca Studios for £155.3 million to Mexican private equity firm Mountain Nazca, pending La Liga’s approval.
Since his re-election as president of Barcelona two years ago, Laporta has worked to improve the club’s financial standing.
Before Laporta’s arrival, the club’s obligations amounted to more than $1.4 billion due to years of extravagant transfer spending, wage bills, and plummeting attendance during the Covid-19 pandemic.
During his tenure, Barcelona has sold a 25% stake in its media rights for the next 25 years to the American investment firm Sixth Street and signed a sponsorship agreement with the music streaming service Spotify worth a record £236 million.
Nevertheless, despite all of these transactions, the club’s vice president of economics, Eduard Romeo, admitted in a June press conference that the club’s debts remained the same as when Laporta assumed office in March 2021.
