Club Atlético de Madrid General Meeting unanimously agrees 181.8 million euro capital increase
Atlético Holdco, which agrees to exercise its pre-emptive subscription right, incorporates funds managed by Ares Management Corporation as a strategic investor, which in turn takes a 33.96% stake in the capital of the club's majority shareholder.
Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D.'s General Meeting, held on Friday at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, with the attendance of members representing 98.29% of the share capital, has unanimously agreed to a capital increase through the issue of 972,082 new shares, with a nominal value of 8.5 euros and an issue premium of 178.60 euros per share, totalling 181,876,542.20 euros, at a rate of 187.10 euros per share.
The current Club shareholders will have a pre-emptive subscription right to subscribe the new shares and, if they exercise this right, must pay 187.10 euros for each new share subscribed, with a monetary contribution, within one month of the publication of the announcement in the Official Gazette of the Mercantile Registry.
In his speech to the General Meeting, the Club's CEO, Miguel Ángel Gil, informed the shareholders of the recent creation of the Atlético HoldCo company, to which Miguel Ángel Gil and Enrique Cerezo, after the required authorisation from the High Council for Sports (CSD), have contributed all their shares in Atlético de Madrid, making Atlético HoldCo the Club's current majority shareholder with a 65.98% stake in its share capital.
Miguel Ángel Gil has assured the shareholders that Atlético HoldCo will exercise its pre-emptive subscription right in the capital increase agreed by the General Meeting, which will mean that, in the coming days, Atlético HoldCo will contribute almost 120 million euros to Club Atlético de Madrid.
Miguel Ángel Gil has also informed the shareholders that, in order to meet this significant capital outlay, Atlético HoldCo has reached an investment agreement whereby funds managed by the Credit Group of Ares Management Corporation (“Ares”) will join as a strategic investor. Ares on Wednesday took a 33.96% stake in Atlético HoldCo's capital, in which Miguel Ángel Gil himself will continue to be the majority shareholder. Mark Affolter, Partner and Co-Head of U.S. Direct Lending of Ares Management Corporation will join Atlético HoldCo's Board of Directors.
In his speech to the General Meeting, the Club's President, Enrique Cerezo, expressed his enormous satisfaction for the fact that Ares Management Corporation has decided to make such an important investment in the Club, which is a great endorsement of the management carried out in exceptional and difficult circumstances for all football clubs, and then read a statement from Ares Management Corporation’s Partners Mark Affolter and Jim Miller, which said: “Ares is pleased to make this strategic investment in Atlético 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 Atlético de Madrid is well-positioned to capitalize on growth in content demand and opportunities for expansion.”
New strategic investor
Lastly, the Club's CEO, Miguel Ángel Gil, wanted to publicly thank Ares Management Corporation for the decision by certain of its managed funds to invest in the Club through Atlético HoldCo. Our CEO believes that incorporating a new strategic investor that is a global leader in many economic sectors greatly strengthens the club's project. He also highlighted the enormous importance of the capital increase agreed by the General Meeting to mitigate the adverse economic effects caused by the pandemic on the Club's income during the last season, as well as to reduce the level of indebtedness derived from both the investment in the new stadium and the acquisition of players to maintain the high level of competitiveness of the first team, which won the LaLiga title a few weeks ago.
About Ares Management Corporation
Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, private equity, real estate and infrastructure asset classes. We seek to provide flexible capital to support businesses and create value for our stakeholders and within our communities. By collaborating across our investment groups, we aim to generate consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market cycles. As of March 31, 2021, including the acquisition of Landmark Partners, which closed June 2, 2021, Ares Management’s global platform had approximately $227 billion of assets under management with more than 1,600 employees operating across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.aresmgmt.com. Follow Ares on Twitter @Ares_Management.
