US hedge fund Elliott Management recently held talks with Mediapro about supporting the Spanish agency’s investment in media rights for Serie A, the top division of football in Italy, according to the Bloomberg news agency.
The report said that Elliott representatives met Mediapro co-founder Jaume Roures twice earlier this month in Milan.
The fund could eventually provide financing, but talks are still preliminary and one source said that Elliott has decided against pressing ahead with a deal for the time being.
In February, Mediapro secured the rights to Serie A for three seasons, from 2018-19 to 2020-21.
Last month, Mediapro put seven packages of Serie A rights on the market, but the sales process was halted by a court ruling following a complaint by pay-television broadcaster Sky Italia.
Mediapro, which is appealing the ruling, warned at the end of April that it would be unable to provide Lega Serie A, the organising body of the top division, with the full financial guarantees for its rights deals with the body amid the deadlock. The agency added that the situation would change if the Lega elected to launch its own channel.