Admin l DPA, Monday, April 24, 2023
BERLIN – German FA vice president Steffen Schneekloth wants more clarity on the Bundesliga and second division’s quest to find investors.
League rules mean no club can have an investor owning more than 50% of shares, with Bayer Leverkusen and Volkswagen-backed Wolfsburg among the exceptions. A way around this rule, and to make German football more competitive, is to seek investment into the top two divisions as a whole.
Interested parties must have submitted their bids to the German Football league (DFL) by Monday at the latest. So far there are six applicants – Advent, Blackstone, Bridgepoint, CVC, EQT and KKR. The investor can acquire part of the league’s media rights for a term of 20 to 30 years.
Spain’s La Liga has done a similar deal with private equity firm CVC but Schneekloth, also president of second-tier side Holstein Kiel, is uneasy about the process.
“Do we really all trust ourselves to make such a long-term decision without reservation?” he told Kicker magazine on Monday.
“Or are club bosses only concerned with the here and now? In other words, improving their own position in the current situation.”
He feels the focus is too much on the question of who should be considered as an investor, with private equity firms circling.
“The more important question is where do we want to go together, what investment is required and what do we want to use the possible investor for?”, the 58-year-old added.
