A deal that should satisfy the city and supporters: AA Gent is almost owned by Sam Baro for more than 30 million euros

Not the American Bill Foley, but the Meetjeslander Sam Baro is about to give AA Gent a restart. A deal to become the majority shareholder is in the works. It is still waiting for all the necessary documents to be signed, but an agreement has nevertheless been reached on the modalities. The official news may follow in the course of next week.

Sam Baro. — © ivh

A small surprise anyway, since Sam Baro according to the specialized website The Richest Belgians only has a capital of 39 million euros. That amount appears to be incorrect. Given his commitment to AA Gent, that is also not possible. Unless Baro, founder and CEO of HR company Planet Group, which employs more than 1,800 people, receives substantial financial support from the private company with which he wants to acquire AA Gent. That is not yet clear at the moment. The fact is that the man who recently also saved the Ghent regional channel AVS already made contact with AA Gent months ago and a very thorough screening preceded it. He indicated that he is sufficiently solvent.

Name change Ghelamco Arena?

The entrepreneur from Assenede therefore does not become a mere investor, as was thought . He takes over the Buffalos and commits himself to investing a sloppy 30 million euros. AA Gent is currently a CVBA with a social purpose, but will become a public limited company. Baro will use a maximum of 7.75 million euros to buy out almost all current shareholders. In addition, up to 21 million is pumped into the club as capital. Baro also pays another two million as a sponsor. Whether the name of the Ghelamco Arena will get the stamp of one of its companies is possible, but currently unknown.

Ivan De Witte will leave the club soon. — © BELGIUM

Social role safeguarded

Today, AA Gent has a piggy bank of more than 17 million euros. That money stays in the club. The largest part of this remains capital, a sloppy 10 million euros, resulting in more than 30 million in cash. The rest of those 17 million, approximately 7 million, will be safeguarded for the social role played by the Buffalos. That AA Gent would not renounce its social function was a request from the supporters and a demand from the city of Ghent. And a promise from Ivan De Witte. The chairman of AA Gent keeps his word.

Until at least 2038, a budget has been set aside for the KAA Gent Foundation – which also includes the Elk Talent Telt project – and for sister club Racing Gent. That would also be one of the reasons why Bill Foley has dropped out for the time being. The American owner of Premier League club Bournemouth examined the accounts and considered AA Gent interesting, but, for example, had little sense in setting aside a large part of the current capital for community activities.

© BELGIUM

Baro commits to buy almost all shares. That does not mean that Ivan De Witte, chairman since 1999, and CEO Michel Louwagie, employed since 1990, will suddenly disappear. It would not be very well thought out by Baro and irresponsible by the current chairman to disappear with the northern sun. Call it an extinction scenario for the current golden duo of AA Gent – ​​or a break-in period for Baro – but the Buffalos will be led by a three-in-hand for at least one more season.

Urban anchoring remains

The future also looks safe. The legacy of the tandem that pulled AA Gent out of the doldrums and propelled it to the Belgian top is further safeguarded. Even with the entry of Sam Baro, the city of Ghent will remain the watchdog. For example, SoGent (Ghent Urban Development) remains a shareholder and the majority of the shares can never be sold without the permission of the city. There are restrictions on who can buy shares in the future. It has never been a secret that chairman De Witte wanted to protect his club and was horrified by ‘questionable money’. People from the gambling or porn world, but also parties from countries where human rights are violated, will not be able to join in the future.

Sam Baro. — © if

Local roots, a guaranteed social role and a future that protects against dubious dollars: who can be against that? The search took time because chairman De Witte was careful with candidates, but today there is an agreement on the table that satisfies all parties involved. It will be an exciting four weeks to see if there are any more bumps along the way, but everything could be settled by the end of July. Which would also mean that AA Gent has an extra war chest to make transfers in August. Or to keep coveted players for another year.

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