Italian media group Mediaset has secured a €700m ($966m) loan from three banks to help cover its expenditure on football rights, according to Il Sole 24 Ore.
The Italian newspaper said Mediaset has been granted the loan by the Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit and BNL-BNP Paribas institutions, adding that the funds cover the group’s recent rights deal for the Uefa Champions League club competition.
Mediaset in February agreed to pay just over €230m per season for exclusive rights to the Champions League for three seasons, from 2015-16 to 2017-18.
Il Sole 24 Ore added that the extra cash injection comes with the Infront Sports & Media agency set to shortly open the auction for the sale of media rights for three seasons, from 2015-16 to 2017-18, to Serie A, the top division of Italian football.