Apollo in ‘advanced talks’ to buy Atletico Madrid majority stake at €2.5bn valuation

• Apollo has exclusivity period to invest in club
• Firm plans to buy shares from each of the team’s stakeholders

Apollo Global Management is reportedly in advanced discussions to acquire a majority stake in Spanish soccer club Atlético Madrid.

Atlético Madrid is currently owned by the Atlético Holdco company, which is majority controlled by the Spanish soccer giants’ chief executive Miguel Ángel Gil Marín. Club chairman Enrique Cerezo and US private equity firm Ares Management also own stakes in Atlético Holdco, with the remainder of the club’s shares owned by another investment company in Quantum Pacific.

According to multiple reports, Apollo plans to buy a portion of shares from each of the LaLiga outfit’s four stakeholders. The Financial Times (FT) adds that each shareholder is willing to part ways with some of their shares, with the stake size and each stake’s respective price tag still to be negotiated with Apollo.

Apollo now has a three-month exclusive negotiation window and, according to Reuters, expects to become the majority shareholder of the team at a later stage of the transaction, with the US private equity firm valuing Atlético Madrid at €2.5 billion (US$2.94 billion).

Apollo’s interest was first reported in July, with initial talks focusing on a potential financing deal for the Spanish club’s sport and leisure development Parque Metropolitano. 

If a deal was to be completed, Atlético Madrid would become the most valuable privately owned Spanish sports team. Earlier this year, US investment firm ALK Capital agreed a takeover of Espanyol, and CVC Capital Partners has already invested €2 billion (US$2.35 billion) in LaLiga i exchange for a portion of the league’s media rights income.

Apollo is said to be planning a US$5 billion sports investment vehicle that will lend money to sports leagues and teams and make direct acquisitions. The firm already has more than US$800 billion of assets under management and has  done deals with sporting entities, including providing Premier League club Nottingham Forest with a UK£80 million (US$108 million) loan this year.

It has previously been linked with acquiring a minority stake in English soccer giants Manchester United.

Credit: https://www.sportspro.com/news/atletico-madrid-apollo-global-management-majority-stake-talks-september-2025/