Belgian soccer club Bruges plans stock market listing

New listings have been rare in recent years, however, though soccer financing has attracted plenty of investor interest recently, with private equity firms increasingly keen to invest in sports leagues and clubs battling with revenue losses in the face of COVID-19 restrictions. Berenberg, Credit Suisse and JP Morgan are global coordinators on the Bruges deal and joint bookrunners with Belfius Bank.

Belgian soccer club Bruges (Club Brugge NV) is planning an initial public offering (IPO) on the Brussels stock market, it said on Wednesday, in the first such move by a Belgian club. The club has filed an "intention to float", signaling the launch of the IPO process, and intends to list an undisclosed percentage of the company on the Euronext Brussels exchange, according to a statement to investors seen by Reuters.

Grizzly Sports NV, a vehicle that will be owned by major shareholders Bart Verhaeghe, Vincent Mannaert, Jan Boone, and Peter Vanhecke, is the selling shareholder in the transaction. They have a combined holding of 94.34% ahead of the sale and no new shares will be issued as part of the deal, the club's statement said, meaning it will not be raising fresh funds through the listing.

"This is a reopening trade," said a source close to the deal. "Investors are keen to get into these kinds of stocks with the COVID-19 crisis reaching its final stages and a reopening of stadiums on the horizon. "There is a great demand for value stocks, and I think that's where this is positioned."

Bruges, currently leading Belgium's top league, was founded in 1891 and has won 16 first division titles. It is also a regular in European competitions, though Belgium's automatic spot in the Champions League group stage could be in jeopardy after the elimination of Bruges and Antwerp in the Europe League's round of 32.

A handful of European football clubs already have stock market listings. Juventus in Italy, Borussia Dortmund in Germany, and Dutch team Ajax are high-profile examples, while England's Manchester United listed in New York in 2012. New listings have been rare in recent years, however, though soccer financing has attracted plenty of investor interest recently, with private equity firms increasingly keen to invest in sports leagues and clubs battling with revenue losses in the face of COVID-19 restrictions.

Berenberg, Credit Suisse, and JP Morgan are global coordinators on the Bruges deal and joint bookrunners with Belfius Bank.

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