(Bloomberg) -- Bain Capital has made a 3 billion-euro ($3.4 billion) preliminary offer for a stake in Italy's top soccer league, according to people familiar with the matter, putting it into competition with rival private equity firm CVC Capital Partners.
The Boston-based firm has expressed interest in buying about 25% of Serie A, home to players including Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private.
Representatives for Bain and Serie A declined to comment.
Bain's proposal would top one made by CVC, which has been holding talks about taking as much as 20% in Serie A for 2 billion euros, people familiar with the matter said in May.
The buyout funds are seeking to buy a minority stake in a league unit that owns its lucrative television rights, the people said. Serie A is the fourth-richest league in Europe, according to Deloitte Sports Business Group's latest review of the game, published on Thursday. It generated revenue of about 2.5 billion euros in 2018-2019, with almost 60% coming from broadcasting.
The league is exploring funding options at a time when play has been suspended for months due to a nationwide lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Matches are set to resume on June 20.
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