Real-Sixth Street-Legends strategic deal

Article posted by Coliseum, May 23^rd, 2022

Image: Real Madrid

The Board of Directors of the Spanish professional football club Real Madrid CF (Spain) at its meeting held on May 18^th ratified an agreement with Sixth Street, an investment firm with extensive experience in sports and infrastructure, and Legends, a premium experiences company for sports and live venue organizations, with the objective of elevating their home arena – the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium – as a unique venue and a worldwide benchmark for leisure and entertainment.

The ‘Real Madrid’ stated that as part of the long-term partnership, Real Madrid will receive approximately €360m to be invested across any of the club’s activities. Through this alliance, Sixth Street acquires the right to participate in the operation of certain new businesses of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for 20 years. In addition, Legends will contribute its experience in the operation of large stadiums, attractions and event spaces to optimize the management of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

Real Madrid or simply Real is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. Founded on March 6^th, 1902 as the Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally worn a white home kit since inception.

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Real Madrid CF is a sport institution with 120 years of history, owned by its members. It is the club with the most European Cups of both football (13) and basketball (10) and was recognized by FIFA as the ‘Best Club of the 20^th Century’. Real Madrid has millions of fans in all corners of the world, with 400 million followers on social networks, and is for the third year in a row the most valuable football club in Europe according to The European Elite 2021 report prepared by consultancy KPMG.

Real Madrid is the most valuable football brand in the world according to Brand Finance for the third year in a row and achieved the highest record in the Transparency Index of football clubs last season.

The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 81,044, it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid since its completion in 1947. It is the second-largest stadium in Spain and third-largest home to a top-flight European club after the 99,354-capacity Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, and the 81,365-capacity Westfalenstadion in Dortmund, Germany.

Sixth Street is a global investment firm with over $60 billion in assets under management and committed capital. Sixth Street uses its long-term flexible capital, data-enabled capabilities and One Team culture to develop themes and offer solutions to companies across all stages of growth. Founded in 2009, Sixth Street has more than 400 team members including over 180 investment professionals operating around the world.

Founded in 2008, Legends is a premium experiences company with six divisions operating worldwide – Global Planning, Global Sales, Global Partnerships, Hospitality, Global Merchandise, and Global Technology Solutions – offering clients and partners a 360-degree data and analytics fueled service solution platform to elevate their brand and execute their vision.

Currently, Legends works with marquee clients across business verticals including professional sports, collegiate, attractions, entertainment, and conventions and leisure.

Put in Florentino Pérez, President of Real Madrid, “The transformation of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium will be a turning point in the history of Real Madrid. This alliance with Sixth Street and Legends, world leaders in their respective disciplines, will be fundamental in providing unique experiences in a stadium where multiple events can be hosted throughout the year. This agreement strengthens the club’s goal of continuing to significantly increase the stadium’s revenues from both sporting and other types of events.”

Shared Alan Waxman, Co-Founder and CEO of Sixth Street, “Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu is a hallowed ground in the world of football, and we are honored to be joining this partnership to invest in the innovative, long-term strategic vision that has guided the club’s consistent success over its storied history. The flexible, solutions-oriented capital and comprehensive capabilities provided by our team at Sixth Street, combined with the deep expertise Legends offers in venue and sports brand operations, will support Real Madrid in its mission to compete and remain a leader in global sports for many years to come.”

The ‘Real Madrid’ further stated that Sixth Street, which manages over $60 billion in assets, brings extensive investment experience with leading companies in the world of sports and in sectors such as real estate, infrastructure and consumer, including the San Antonio Spurs basketball team, Airbnb and Spotify.

Said Shervin Mirhashemi, head honcho of Legends, “We are proud to expand our existing relationship with Real Madrid. Legends’ operational and sales acumen and experience, across matchday and non-matchday, combined with the iconic Real Madrid brand and Sixth Street’s flexible capital deployment is a new and innovative approach to modernizing the Bernabéu, one of the world’s greatest sports, entertainment and cultural venues. With this long-term management relationship, Legends continues to grow its global footprint, while investing in regional expertise with best-in-class brands worldwide.”

Legends was formed in 2008 by affiliates of the Major League Baseball (MLB) team New York Yankees and the National Football League (NFL) team Dallas Cowboys. Sixth Street invested in a majority stake in Legends in January 2021. Legends provide holistic, data-driven revenue solutions for some of the world’s most iconic brands and boast an expansive client portfolio in sports, entertainment, live events, and attractions.

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