FC Barcelona wants to set up its media arm – Barça Media – as a BV company in the Netherlands and then move to the US stock exchange Nasdaq through a SPAC. Dutch consulting teams from Stibbe and NautaDutilh are involved as legal advisors.
Image: FC Barcelona fans / Shutterstock
According to FD, the football club’s plans are two-fold. First, FC Barcelona wants to move its media company to the Netherlands and list it on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. This should be followed by a second stock exchange listing, as a Dutch company BV, on the Nasdaq through a merger with a so-called SPAC. In other words, one Special purpose acquisition company; A blank check company allows for quick listings. In this case, Mountain & Co., with which the merger has not yet been officially completed.
Barça Media’s IPO, the football club hopes to bring in more money. The club has financial problems (debts of around 1.3 billion euros), is looking for financiers and is putting various commercial branches up for sale. Barça Media is worth around nine hundred million euros. This multimedia division of the club provides content for TV and digital channels such as interviews and podcasts, but also issues cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In addition, the branch is responsible for its own television channel: Barça TV.
Stepi and Notadotila
Steppe advises Barcelona’s premier club in collaboration with Spanish law firm Pérez Jurca. This relates to a Business Combination Agreement with Nasdaq-listed Mountain & Co; A shell company worth around €1 billion. The Amsterdam advisory team for this purpose is led by partners Peter Schütte, I. Gisbrand van Straaten, and Renaut de Boer. They manage their colleagues Moritz Schmitz, Lisanne de Vries, Mieke van Schaik, Flora de Graaf, Moritz van Dijk and Michel Siemsen.
NautaDutilh is located next to Mountain & Co. The company is working with the international American company Sullivan & Cromwell for this purpose until the deal is completed. The team with which NautaDutilh Mountain & Co advises consists of Marloes van der Laan, Leanne Meurs and Paul van der Bijl. The latter is responsible here.
“It was a pleasure to work on this deal,” says NautaDutilh Van der Bijl team leader. “Especially in a period when the economic climate is dampening – and sometimes stifling – new deals, it was good to work towards a situation in which the parties were able to resolve all the difficult issues, such as valuation, financing, structuring and governance. In addition, it is of course good to be We are able to say that we are involved in a deal with a resounding name like FC Barcelona.
Opportunities abroad
The United States will provide a lot of opportunities for FC Barcelona. For example, in 2026, the FIFA World Cup for men’s teams will be held on the other side of the Atlantic. This may lead to additional interest in the sport and its associated European teams such as FC Barcelona. Barcelona greats like Lionel Messi have recently moved to the club the states.
The fact that foreign companies are trying to achieve a US stock exchange listing through the Netherlands is not new. Various media indicate that our country creates suitable conditions for this. Earlier this year, for example, large Spanish construction company Ferrovial made the same move. The company was subjected to a lot of criticism at the time because it received support from Spain. The Spanish government felt that Ferrovial was turning its back on the country.
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