Featured image credit: Club América
Club América has been buoyed by the performance of its landmark listing, along with that of its Estadio Azteca home, on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV).
Fans and investors can now buy shares in the Liga MX outfit, one of Mexican football’s ‘big four’, following a restructuring carried out by parent entity, Mexican mass media company Grupo Televisa.
Televisa initially announced plans to spin off parts of its business, including ownership of Estadio Azteca and Club América, back in October 2022. The company said its board of directors had approved a reorganisation proposal to separate some interests that fall under its ‘Other Businesses’ segment, including the Mexico City-based Azteca and its football operations.
A new company, Ollamani, was officially formed on January 31 and made its debut on the BMV yesterday (Tuesday). Along with the Azteca and Club América, the winner of the most domestic championships and which claims to have more than 30 million fans in Mexico, plus a further 10 million in the United States, Ollamani also comprises betting and gaming company PlayCity, Editorial Televisa and magazine distributor, Intermex.
Listed under ‘AGUILAS.CPOs’ on the BMV, Ollamani is said to be the first vehicle in Mexico that allows for investing in sports and entertainment entities. “The América fans, characterised by their loyalty and dedication, can now be, along with us, shareholders of this extraordinary team, and that fills me with emotion,” said Emilio Azcárraga Jean, president of the board of directors of Ollamani.
Marcos Martínez, president of the board of directors of Grupo BMV, added: “We are very proud and happy to share this moment in which Club América and the Estadio Azteca, historical and representative actors for Mexico, join the BMV family.
“Through this listing, Águilas becomes the first Mexican football team to be listed on the stock market and enters the sports elite of the stock market world.”
Ollamani shares debuted at MXN11.50 (£0.53/€0.62/$0.67) per unit yesterday, rising sharply to MXN29.53 as trading closed, granting the newly listed company a market value of around MXN4.3bn.
Ollamani, which means ball game in Mexico’s native nahuatl language, has been formed as efforts continue to revamp the Azteca ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. First opened in 1966, the 87,500-capacity Azteca currently hosts the Mexican national team, along with Club América and Liga MX rival Cruz Azul.
FIFA in June 2022 decided on the 16 cities that will host the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Earlier this month, MetLife Stadium saw off competition from AT&T Stadium to land hosting rights for the World Cup final, with the opening match to be held at the Azteca.
The Azteca will make history by becoming the first stadium to host the opening match of the World Cup three times, having also done so in 1970 and 1986.
The BMV listing is envisioned to help finance redevelopment work at the Azteca. An initial renovation has been estimated at MXN900m, while Ollamani may take on additional debt to complete the project.
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