• Atletico HoldCo now the club’s majority shareholder with a 65.98% stake
• Capital increase to help offset lost income due to Covid-19
• Atletico’s debt reportedly hit €999m following the 2019/20 season

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Atletico Madrid have agreed a deal with Ares Management for a €181.8 million (US$216.9 million) capital increase, which in turn sees the US investment manager take a 33.96 per cent stake in the Spanish soccer champions’ new holding company.

The injection of capital is designed to help shore up Atletico’s finances, mitigating what the club described as ‘the adverse economic effects’ on income caused by Covid-19.

The La Liga holders also said the funds will ‘reduce the level of indebtedness derived from both the investment in the new stadium and the acquisition of players’.

In November 2020, digital soccer outlet Goal reported Atletico’s debt had reached €999 million (US$1.2 billion) following the 2019/20 season.

A general meeting was called on 25th June to approve the deal. The capital increase was unanimously agreed through the issue of 972,082 shares, which had a nominal value of €8.50 (US$10.14) and an issue premium of €178.60 (US$213.13) per share, totalling €181,876,542 (US$217 million), at a rate of €187.10 (US$223.28) per share.

Announcing the deal, Atletico chief executive Miguel Angel Gil told shareholders that the holding company, Atletico HoldCo, will exercise its pre-emptive subscription right in the capital increase. He said that this means, in the coming days, Atletico HoldCo will contribute almost €120 million (US$143 million) to the club.

Gil also confirmed Ares will join the holding company as a strategic investor. Gil himself will be the majority shareholder in Atletico HoldCo. Mark Affolter, partner and co-head of US direct lending at Ares, will join Atletico HoldCo’s board of directors.

In addition, Atletico HoldCo becomes the club’s majority shareholder with a 65.98 per cent stake in its share capital.

Approximately 32 per cent of Atletico’s shares are owned by Quantum Pacific, a holding company headed up by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer.

In a joint statement, Affolter and Jim Miller, another partner at Ares, said: “Ares is pleased to make this strategic investment in Atletico de Madrid given its international brand equity, loyal fan base and resilience through the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As the world begins to reopen and with the support of Ares’ flexible capital, we believe Atletico de Madrid is well-positioned to capitalise on growth in content demand and opportunities for expansion.”