La Liga champions Atletico Madrid are set to get a capital increase of whopping $216.9 million from a US-based company Ares Management headquartered in Los Angeles.
Ares will also get a 33.96% stake from Atletico Madrid. The current Spanish champions had a debt of $1.2 billion in the 2019-2020 season and Atletico are planning to pay it off.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put all the clubs in financial crisis and the Colchoneros has reportedly told that this investment would offload some level of indebtedness from the players the club have bought and the construction of their newly built stadium.
Atletico chief executive Miguel Angel Gil announced that Ares will be coming on board with them and a few days ago Gil also announced that Atletico HoldCo, which is the holding company will contribute almost €120 million (US$143 million) to the club. Gil also revealed that he is a major shareholder in Atletico HoldCo which makes the holding company a major shareholder of the club with a 65.98 percent stake in its share capital. Quantum Pacific is the other firm that owns 32 percent of Atletico’s share.
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.”
They also said that Ares believes in Atletico Madrid and they are in a sound position to capitalise on the growth.
Ares has previously tried to make their mark in football. Last year, they backed Kapital Football Group (KFG), a soccer-focused holding company trying to acquire Southampton FC. KFG and Ares are also planning investments in clubs from Brazil, Portugal and Belgium.
La Liga recently announced the fixtures for the 2021-22 season. On the first match-day, champions Atletico Madrid will lock horns with Celta Vigo on 15th August.