The Bundesliga is likely to get an external investor soon. At a general meeting of the DFL (German Football League), 24 of the 36 Bundesliga clubs voted in favour of entering into negotiations with private equity investors. Prior to the vote, DFL managing directors Marc Lenz and Steffen Merkel once again emphasised that the future partner should only be granted limited rights of co-determination in economic matters. "If a potential partner does not accept the red lines, it is not the right partner for us," emphasised Lenz.

According to insiders, the investment companies Advent, Blackstone, CVC and EQT have submitted non-binding bids. Several of them are expected to be shortlisted soon. The DFL intends to give the tender winner up to 8% of a new media rights subsidiary, which will receive the licence revenue from the television rights.

The Bundesliga will have to expect financial cuts when it puts the broadcasting rights for 2025 to 2029 to tender in April. They currently bring the clubs 1.1 billion euros per year. However, the football business is definitely worth it. There are key figures for the 2021/22 season, characterised by the pandemic: the 18 clubs in the first national league generated revenue of 3.6 billion euros. This corresponds to an increase of 3.9% compared to the previous season. Of the total revenue, 1.38 billion euros or 38% was attributable to media exploitation. By comparison, revenue in the last pre-coronavirus season 2018/19 totalled 4.02 billion euros.

At the meeting of the 36 professional clubs in a Frankfurt airport hotel, the proposal for the investor deal just achieved the necessary two-thirds majority with 24 votes in favour. That mark was narrowly missed in May of this year. Ten clubs voted against and two abstained. The DFL wants to use the money primarily to expand its infrastructure. This includes further digitalisation and internationalisation as well as the development of its own streaming platform. The remainder will be distributed to the clubs according to their sporting performance.

The money from the planned sale of TV rights will primarily be channelled into investments "to make the national league (...) fit for the future", as stated in the DFL announcement in November. The aim is to "increase the revenue from centralised marketing in the long-term through today's investments, from which all clubs would benefit," said the two DFL managing directors, Marc Lenz and Steffen Merkel, seeking the clubs' approval for the "strategic marketing partnership".

"It involves a revenue share with clear red lines. It is not a sale of shares," said DFL managing director Lenz. The new co-owners will not have a say, for instance, in matters like the schedule or the format of the national league. "We tested the waters to see if the bidders would accept these boundaries." The clubs unanimously agreed to certain concessions to the rights buyers. However, this will not go to the extent where TV cameras could broadcast live from inside the players' locker rooms during the coaches' talks. Advocates of the investor deal include record champions FC Bayern Munich, Borussia Mönchengladbach, and FC Schalke 04. The deal was rejected by 1. FC Köln and SC Freiburg, among others.