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Why Global Sport Group Is Being Engineered Like Infrastructure
Private equity’s grip on global sport is tightening, and CVC is now turning its $13-14 billion Global Sport Group (GSG) into something that looks less like a conventional PE fund and more like an infrastructure‑style platform with long‑dated debt, recurring cash flows and periodic liquidity events.
At the heart of the story is a multibillion‑pound refinancing, led by Ares Management and other private credit players, secured against a portfolio that touches European football, women’s tennis, elite rugby, volleyball and IPL cricket.
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What exactly is Global Sport Group?
CVC created GSG in September 2025 as a dedicated division to hold its sports assets, consolidating roughly US$13.6 billion (about £11 billion) of holdings into a single platform, the largest sports fund in private equity.
The group sits inside a manager with more than US$225 billion in AUM, and is effectively a “sports version of LVMH”: multiple category‑leading brands under one commercial roof.
Key disclosed stakes include:
Around 13 percent of France’s Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), the commercial arm of Ligue 1.
Roughly 14 percent in the Six Nations Rugby commercial rights vehicle.
About 27 percent in Premiership Rugby and 28 percent in United Rugby Championship (URC).
Approximately 33 percent in Volleyball World, the FIVB’s commercial subsidiary.
A 20 percent stake in WTA Ventures, the joint‑venture commercial vehicle for the Women’s Tennis Association.
Stakes in LaLiga’s long‑term media rights JV in Spain
Prior ownership/exposure to an IPL franchise (Gujarat Titans), even after selling down a majority position.
In aggregate, these assets are valued around US$13.6 billion, according to multiple trade and financial outlets, with Sky and SportsPro framing it as a US$13.6 billion or roughly £9-10 billion sports portfolio.
The Refinancing: How Much and Why Now?
CVC is now in advanced talks to refinance this roughly £9-10 billion portfolio via a multibillion‑pound debt package led by Ares Management and joined by other private credit firms, including BlackRock‑owned HPS Investment Partners.
Reports suggest:
The refinancing will be “multibillion‑pound”, consolidating existing financing across GSG’s stakes into one structure, likely in the mid‑single‑digit billions.
The debt will sit at the GSG / SportsCo level and be secured against long‑term media and sponsorship revenues from LaLiga, Ligue 1, Six Nations, Premiership Rugby, URC, Volleyball World and WTA.
Goldman Sachs, PJT Partners and Raine Group are advising CVC, having already been mandated earlier to evaluate options including Gulf sovereign wealth capital, a structured minority sale, or a future IPO.
The underlying logic is simple: sports rights cash flows look more like infrastructure than traditional cyclicals. Multi‑year, often inflation‑linked domestic and international media deals, plus global sponsorship revenue, create a predictable, bankable revenue stream that private credit funds can lend against at attractive spreads. Sky and others explicitly note that the financing terms are expected to be favourable because of the “credit strength” and long‑term revenue visibility of the portfolio.
Who is Providing the Capital?
Ares Management is expected to anchor the lending syndicate. The firm has raised at least US$3.7 billion for dedicated sports, media and entertainment strategies, and recently closed US$1 billion for a second institutional sports fund. Its sports exposure already spans:
Equity and/or financing across Chelsea, Atlético Madrid, Inter Miami, Miami Dolphins and other premier clubs.
Backing for SailGP and participation in the McLaren Racing deal at an implied team valuation above £3 billion (over US$4 billion).
HPS Investment Partners, now controlled by BlackRock after a 2025 acquisition to bulk up its private credit arm, adds further firepower to the lender group. BlackRock has explicitly signalled that private credit and “solutions across public and private markets” are core growth priorities, making sports‑backed loans a natural fit.
In parallel, Apollo Global Management have launched their permanent capital vehicle for sports, its first dedicated, long‑term pool targeting club lending and equity stakes. That places CVC–Ares–HPS inside a broader triangle of “super funds” alongside Apollo, building multi‑billion permanent capital structures around sport.
How is the capital structured and used?
While exact pricing and tenors are not public, the structure is likely to feature:
Long‑dated, floating‑rate senior and possibly mezzanine tranches secured on cash flows from rights and sponsorship deals.
Covenants tied to minimum contracted revenues and leverage ratios at the GSG vehicle level, rather than at individual clubs or leagues.
Potential embedded options for future upsizing as GSG adds new assets, mirroring infrastructure platforms that add projects over time.
Capital uses are threefold:
Refinance existing obligations across historic CVC sports deals, swapping out deal‑by‑deal bank debt or seller financing for a single, diversified facility.
Fund new acquisitions, enabling CVC to pursue additional stakes in leagues, teams or rights packages without drawing heavily on fresh equity from limited partners.
Enable a future liquidity event, such as the sale of a minority stake in GSG to sovereign wealth funds or a partial IPO, while preserving long‑run exposure and control.
Markets Group and others have already reported that CVC, via a vehicle previously dubbed “SportsCo”, has explored bringing in Gulf sovereign wealth funds as cornerstone investors for a £10 billion‑plus
Why This Matters For CVC’s Returns Model
Historically, CVC’s sports track record includes the long ride on Formula 1 and its game‑changing LaLiga media rights JV, where the firm traded long‑term cash flows and league‑wide modernisation for capital up front.
GSG now takes that model to scale:
By extending the holding period beyond a typical 7–10 year PE fund, CVC can benefit from multiple rights cycles, digital growth and international expansion.
By using private credit rather than an immediate sale, it can monetise part of today’s value without surrendering the upside on women’s sport, rugby or global football media rights.
By housing everything in one platform with a named chairman (Marc Allera) and a shared commercial playbook, it can generate synergies across sponsorship sales, data, fan engagement and broadcast innovation.
If GSG ultimately lists or sells a minority stake at a valuation premium to the sum of the original entry prices, CVC captures a platform multiple on top of asset‑level returns, similar to how multi‑club football groups seek higher valuations for the “group” than any one team.
What it Means For Leagues, Clubs and Rival Investors
For rights‑holders already inside GSG, the upside is continued investment capacity, in production upgrades, OTT platforms, data products and international growth, backed by deep-pocketed lenders who care about long‑term cash flows, not just one rights cycle. The trade‑off is that more of their future media and sponsorship income is effectively “spoken for” as collateral, tightening the link between sporting performance, commercial success and debt service.
For rival investors, CVC’s move sets a valuation and structure benchmark. Ares and Apollo are now signalling that sports‑backed loans and permanent capital vehicles in the US$3–5 billion range are viable, with assets like Six Nations, LaLiga and WTA used as reference points. That may lift expectations for leagues considering similar structures, from other European football competitions to emerging women’s leagues and global tours.
For clubs and federations lower down the pyramid, the implication is clear: capital is available, but increasingly on professionalised, private‑credit terms. Balance sheet discipline, reliable media deals, diversified revenue (ticketing, hospitality, data, sponsorship) and governance will matter even more if they want access to this pool rather than local bank debt.
