Barcelona partner backs out of deal to put club division on American stock exchange | OneFootball

Last year it was announced that Barcelona would try to sell stocks in their digital media division on the American NASDAQ stock exchange, with some claiming it was a further step towards selling off the club’s assets. Yet their partners in that deal have backed out of it.

As reported originally by La Vanguardia, and then carried by Diario AS, Barcelona will not sell shares in Barca Media (formerly known as Barca Studios), which is the division that handles the distribution of audiovisual content around the globe. One of the subdivisions of Barca Media is Barca Vision, which Barcelona are continuing to struggle to find investors to pay for.

Barcelona had intended to float shares in Barca Media at a total value of a billion euros, in order to boost the finances of the club in the short-term. Yet their partners, Mountain Ventures, had informed the US regulator that they were struggling to find the right formula to incorporate the company into the stock exchange, despite forming a special purpose acquisition company. Since, they have pulled out of the deal.

The same report alleges that the actual value of Barca Vision is much less than initially stated, while President Joan Laporta wanted to float the stocks at €400m and grow them to a billion euros.

This is the latest in a series of moves that have been questioned in recent months, beyond the economic levers that Laporta initially carried out. The Espai Barca project and the Camp Nou renovations have already changed plans to prioritise cheaper options. Raising capital currently at Barcelona is clearly not proving too easy either.