The army was taken out of real estate - Sport - Kommersant

The army was taken out of real estate - Sport - Kommersant



Football club CSKA has officially changed its owner. More than 77% of the club's shares were transferred from VEB.RF to Balance Asset Management, controlled by businessman Vitaly Balanovich. According to the agreements between the former and new owners of CSKA, the actual sports part of its activities will remain "for the current minority shareholders", that is, the president of the club, Evgeny Giner. Mr. Balanovich also intends to develop business on the basis of the real estate complex of the CSKA football club.

As it became known to Kommersant, the CSKA football club completed the procedure for changing ownership. The former owner of the team, VEB.RF, agreed to transfer his 77.63% stake in PFC CSKA to the club's new partner, Balance Asset Management, controlled by businessman Vitaly Balanovich. Earlier there were reports that the Trinfico company received control of the club, but this information was not confirmed.

“We are grateful to VEB.RF for the comprehensive support of our club in one of the most difficult periods in its history,”— says in a statement from CSKA. The club also noted that "such a reliable and powerful partner allowed us to gain financial stability and opened up prospects for further growth", and also promised that they would continue to "develop important social projects aimed at popularizing sports, a healthy and environmentally friendly lifestyle."

The deal provides for the actual division of the business of FC CSKA into two areas, supervised by different teams.

“The current situation has allowed us to take a fresh look at the club’s business model as two key areas – sports and real estate,” VEB.RF said in a statement. “We received an offer from Vitaly Balanovich, a manager with extensive investment experience in the real estate market in Russia, including redevelopment of existing facilities into new formats. His company will attract investment in the development and management of PFC CSKA real estate. Control of the sports part of the business will remain with the current minority shareholders.” The largest of the minority shareholders is the president of FC CSKA Evgeny Giner.

The parties did not disclose the cost of the transaction. Recall that VEB.RF became the owner of CSKA in April 2020. Prior to this, CSKA belonged to Bluecastle Enterprises (Evgeny Giner was considered its main beneficiary). Control over it cost the state corporation, which previously financed the army, according to its report, 18 billion rubles.

The name "VEB Arena" is also the home stadium of CSKA. Actually, the arena, which also includes significant office space, was built mainly on credit funds allocated by VEB.RF. After the events in Ukraine began, VEB.RF fell under US and European sanctions, and the club needed a new owner to continue its normal functioning. The same, remember It happened with Dynamo: at the end of February, VTB, also facing sanctions restrictions, announced that it had decided to return almost 100% of the club's shares to its former owner, the All-Russian Sports Society Dynamo.

In the current conditions of isolation of Russian sports, it is real estate that is the most valuable asset of FC CSKA. And very promising, says the owner of the club Vitaliy Balanovich.

He noted that the company is preparing "a new investment product based on the real estate complex of the CSKA football club." “This is our first public product, which will allow, taking into account our own expertise, to offer clients a turnkey solution for obtaining a stable predictable income,” said Vitaliy Balanovich. “Today, an investment pool has been formed that is interested in investing in high-quality real estate. The possibility of additional attraction of investors through private banking channels and the Moscow Exchange is also being considered, which will make it possible to open access to this product for investors.”

Alexander Petrov



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