Barcelona have completed the second and final tranche of their media notes worth 105 million euros, the club announced on Friday. That closes a huge financing file with a total value of 210 million euros, confirming the club's financial recovery and the return of global market confidence in its long-term project.
The achievement completes a process the club began last July, after the General Assembly of Members and Delegates gave the green light on 19 September.
Overwhelming demand in less than a day
International investors fully covered the closed subscription in a record time of no more than 24 hours, the Catalan club revealed in its official statement. The speed reflects the scale of demand and the confidence in the club's finances.
The profit margin in this issuance reached 202 basis points, matching the margin achieved last July, half of which was offered at an interest rate of 5.14% amid demand that beat expectations.
Such was the strength of the offers during the marketing process that the club brought forward the deal's completion date ahead of the planned timetable.
Why did Barcelona resort to this step?
Barcelona explained that the additional financing was a strategic measure. It bridges the time gap between the start of repaying the huge costs tied to the "Espai Barça" project and the "Spotify Camp Nou" stadium reaching full operational capacity, along with the resulting direct impact on cash flows.
The new issuance continues the existing notes structure the club issued in 2021 and 2024.
A golden guarantee: television broadcast revenues
These notes, known as "media notes" and maturing in October 2036, draw their strength from one feature: they grant holders repayment priority over the club's television broadcast revenues. That makes them a fundamental, direct guarantee against the account into which those revenues are deposited, which boosted their appeal to investors.
The club's management hailed the speed of the deal and its continued profitability as conclusive proof of the market's support for Barcelona and investors' confidence in its ability to generate revenues and develop its future project.
A boost for the Espai Barça project
The club also confirmed that, following the issuance, it held its credit rating at BBB with a stable outlook from the global agency "Morningstar DBRS".
That rating is the cornerstone. It allowed the bank "Goldman Sachs" to lead the process of expanding the financing for the Espai Barça project worth 300 million euros, also approved at the latest General Assembly, with Barcelona thereby securing its financial and sporting future until 2036.