The terms of Grupo City’s bid to purchase Bahia have finally been revealed, after nearly a year of negotiations. On Friday evening (23), the tricolor council presented to the council members the offer made by the Arab fund. The meeting took place at the club museum in Fonte Nova.
Under the proposal, the City Group promises to contribute R $ 1 billion to 90% of the Sociedade Anônima do Futebol (SAF) which will be formed by the Squadron. The money will be divided for three purposes: purchase of players, responsible for half the amount; payment of debts; and others, which includes investments in infrastructure, basic categories and working capital. The breakdown provided for in the contract is as follows:
- R $ 500 million for the purchase of players;
- R $ 300 million for the payment of debts;
- R $ 200 million for infrastructure, basic categories, working capital, among others.
The duration of the amount to be invested is 15 years. However, the expectation is that most of it will be done in the first five years. In addition, there is a contractual obligation that the foreign fund maintains a payroll of R $ 120 million annually or 60% of SAF’s gross income (excluding player transfers), whichever is greater.
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Taking as a reference the year 2021, the last year Bahia played in the Brasileirão Série A, when the club’s salary was around R $ 6 million / month, the amount proposed with the SAF represents an increase of about 50%.
As for the current debts that the club has, they will be paid off and the SAF itself will be in charge of negotiating with creditors. It is worth remembering that the agreement signed with Banco Opportunity provides that, in the case of SAF, Bahia is obliged to immediately pay the amount of the debt (R $ 35 million).
The contract also provides for the possibility for the investor (Grupo City) to purchase another 5% of Bahia, reaching 95%, for R $ 1 billion. Despite the reduction in participation, the association will not lose the rights initially established.
Another established point is that the association has priority in the repurchase of SAF shares.
Identity maintained
A cause for concern among some fans, Bahia’s identity will be preserved. The agreement provides that the symbols, such as colors, hymn, coat of arms, nicknames, are under the responsibility of the association. Changes will be made only by decision of the partners.
Furthermore, as the Bahia brand will continue to be owned by the association, SAF will pay R $ 2.5 million in annual royalties for its use. Grupo City will also continue to carry out the programs currently carried out by Bahia, such as the partner plan Bermuda and Camisa, the Dignidade aos Ídolos project and the sale of popular uniforms.
As for the administration, with the transfer to the fund, the City Group will control men’s, women’s and youth football. The project foresees that the SAF will be managed by a Board of Directors composed of six representatives. Five of them nominated by the Municipality and one by the association (Bahia).
The meeting was attended by the Spaniard Ferran Soriano, executive director and manager of the clubs of the City Group. He only spoke to the councilors. After the first part of the meeting, reserved for the Board only, the club broadcast live and President Guilherme Bellintani spoke about the deal over the course of a year.
“We never put the invested amount at the center. We always said we weren’t looking for a check. For us, if the partner is good, we are more interested in that than a partner who is not sure and makes a financially greater offer”.
Next steps
Despite the presentation, the meeting with the deliberative council was informal so that the board of directors could list the main points of the offer. From now on, the agency will analyze the document (more than 500 pages) to issue an opinion. The Budget Council will also have access.
After this process, the Deliberative Council will convene the Extraordinary General Assembly (AGE) in which the members will vote on whether or not to sell the club.
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