Global investment firm The Carlyle Group’s (NASDAQ: CG) Global Credit platform has agreed to provide a debt financing package of EUR400 million for Infront Group (Infront), a sports marketing company based in Switzerland.
Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Zug, Infront is one of the world’s largest sports marketing companies, offering a broad range of services including Media Rights, Sponsorship Rights, Media Production and Digital Solutions. Infront intends to use the funds to refinance its existing debt and to support its expansion plans.
Soenke Ziebell, Vice President Finance & Chief Financial Officer of Infront, says: “With its industry expertise and global reach, we are confident Carlyle is the right financial and strategic partner to support the continued growth of Infront. Our new capital structure will allow Infront to capitalise on a number of strategic initiatives and consolidate our leadership position in key sports and innovative products.”
Taj Sidhu, Head of Carlyle’s European Credit Opportunities advisory team, says: “Carlyle’s global team and flexible capital were critical to our ability to identify and underwrite the entire financing for Infront, one of the most established and highly-regarded sports marketing companies in the world. This investment is a direct result of Carlyle’s sector expertise and thematic focus on media, entertainment and content.”
Nicola Falcinelli, Managing Director in Carlyle’s Global Credit platform, says: “We are delighted to partner with Infront and provide a flexible credit solution to support their growth ambitions. The global sports market is expected to enjoy strong growth, and Infront is well-positioned to benefit from this given its unique portfolio of premium content rights, long-term partnerships with the world’s largest sports organisations, and a diversified offering and customer base.”
The debt financing package for Infront was led by Carlyle’s Credit Opportunities platform, part of Carlyle’s $59 billion Global Credit segment, which regularly pursues investments in privately negotiated capital solutions primarily for upper middle market borrowers, including both private equity sponsored and family or entrepreneur-owned companies.
