FC Atletico Madrid pitch. Credit: Yuri Turks, Shutterstock
American private equity firm Apollo Global Management is negotiating billions of euro investments in Atletico de Madrid, and is reportedly marking the most aggressive push for Spanish sports.
According to expansionApollo is in discussions to acquire a majority stake in Atletico Hallo, which controls 70.35% of the club’s stake. The move dilutes the power of current stakeholders Miguel Ancer Gilmarin (50.82%), Ares Management (33.96%) and club president Enrique Cerezo (15.22%).
Apollo’s growing Spanish presence
Apollo has already made headlines this year in Spain by working with AC Milan and Alpine F1 owner Redbird Capital to buy a portfolio of tennis assets such as Madrid Open and Miami Open. The transaction is still pending closing.
The fund previously invested in Spanish companies such as Primafrio and Tradeinn, which will become the first major stake in Spanish football. It had previously failed in a 2022 bid to buy 10% of Mexican La Liga MX international media rights for 50 years.
Investment could follow Apollo’s initial involvement in Atletico’s fundraising Sports City project. However, with global assets of 785 billion euros under management, the company appears to want to bring Spanish sports to a stronger grip.
Can this mark a new era of foreign domination in Lariga?
View all sports news.
View all financial news.