(ATR) The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) teams up with private equity giant CVC Capital Partners Fund VII to create a new commercial entity called Volleyball World.
Volleyball World will initially work with FIVB and operate the federation’s international events including the FIVB World Championship, Olympic Games qualifiers and the Nations League national team tournament. But the new entity will then look to partner with other leagues and federations around the world "with the goal of increasing the profile and popularity of the sport".
An official release also stated that Volleyball World "will focus on matters such as event hosting, fan experience, media, opportunities around data and digital, and sponsorship growth".
FIVB will remain the sole, global volleyball regulatory body under the deal and is the majority shareholder in Volleyball World.
CVC brings extensive experience to this partnership, with a strong track record of CVC funds investing in multiple sports businesses, including Formula 1, Moto GP, and Rugby. The company also has offices in 22 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas, which could aid in efforts to grow the sport and fuel further investment.
Finn Taylor will be the CEO of Volleyball World. He was previously the head of Cirque du Soleil's Global Touring show. Former FIVB secretary general Fernando Lima will chair the board of Volleyball World. Members of the board will include FIVB general director Fabio Azevedo and Simon Denyer, the founder and former CEO of streaming subscription service DAZN.
Michael Payne, the former IOC director of marketing/broadcast rights, first brought CVC and FIVB together about 18 months ago. He had worked with CVC during his time at F1 as well as after that and is also an adviser for FIVB.
"You’ve seen a number of federations separate their marketing operations from their day-to-day sporting operations," Payne tells Around the Rings, "but this is the first time that you’ve really looked at creating a new company that is partnered with the world’s leading private equity company, in the sports space at least."
CVC’s monetary might also means the company can take advantage of opportunities to invest in sports properties during a pandemic.
"CVC has always had on all their sports investments a very long-term strategic focus. The potential of what volleyball represents isn’t changed by the pandemic. Does it mean it might take six months or a year longer to build something up because of everything that is going on? Yeah, maybe. But that doesn’t change the whole long-term prospective and potential," Payne says.
CVC clearly believes that volleyball, which is the fourth most popular sport in the world with more than 800 million fans and strong participation in attractive markets, is worth the investment.
As for FIVB, federation president Ary S. Graça F°, in a statement, said "Volleyball World will boost our sport’s financial growth and deliver lasting legacies for the whole game. Working in partnership with CVC we will be able to secure volleyball’s future and emerge stronger from the current challenges."
Written by Gerard Farek
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