It's a shame that the internet is a virtual medium, because there are a lot of people out there that I'd like to express my deep feelings of friendship to, and having spent the last two years here in Serbia, I'd like to do it in a truly Serbian way.
Top Croatia Soccer Team Puts Shares on Sale
| 17 July 2008 |
Hajduk Split is one of Croatia's top soccer teams, whose match in April against Zadar is also being investigated
He could not give more details but Croatian media reported that Hajduk's total base capital was estimated at some 260 million kuna (€32.5 million).
Some 16,000 members of the Hajduk supporters' association will be able to buy a total of 162,070 shares worth 81 million kuna (€11.2 million). Some shares will also be offered to former players with outstanding claims, the Split-based Slobodna Dalmacija daily reported.
The city of Split will become the majority owner of the club under a debt-ownership swap scheme turning the state's claim of some 140 million kuna (€19.3 million) in unpaid taxes into an ownership stake.
It was unclear if and when the shares will be listed on the stock exchange.
"It is certainly possible that Hajduk, like any other shareholding company, will be listed but it depends on the ownership structure or what percentage of the stock could become available for free float," said the spokesman for the Zagreb stock exchange, Zeljko Kardum.
Hajduk, six-times Croatian and 11-times Yugoslav champions, are one of a number of top flight clubs that have amassed debts since Croatia became independent from Yugoslavia in 1991.
Croatian soccer clubs are currently registered as non-profit "associations of citizens". According to a new sports bill, aimed at regulating legal and financial aspects of soccer, all clubs that have debts will have to become shareholding companies to avoid going bust.
Others will be able to choose whether to keep the current status or seek an owner.
No one will be able to buy shares worth more than 25 percent of a club's base capital without approval of the commission for professional clubs, to prevent any speculative deals.
