Real Madrid: IPIC, the Emirati investment fund, wants to acquire naming rights to Bernabéu

The investment fund IPIC (International Petroleum Investment Company), 100% owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) and managed by the royal family, wants to acquire the naming rights to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (capacity 85,000) that belongs to Real Madrid CF (Liga BBVA), said the Spanish sport newspaper Marca on 21/09/2014.

The contract is estimated at €450m and €500m over 20 years, or €22.5 to €25m per year. This partnership would represent the largest amount for a naming contract in the world. Currently, the most lucrative partnership binds the telecommunications group AT&T to the Dallas Cowboys (NFL, American football) for an amount estimated between €13.2m and €14.8m.

A company owned by the investment fund IPIC would obtain the visibility offered by the roof of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. This could be Cepsa, an oil company headquartered in Madrid, which was 100% bought by IPIC in August 2011. Furthermore, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, which has ties with IPIC, has become a regional partner of Real Madrid on 12/09/2014.

The administrative council of…