Status: 03/01/2023 3:21 p.m
Dietmar Hopp will return his majority voting rights in TSG Hoffenheim-Spielbetriebs GmbH to the parent club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim eV without compensation. The club is now a regular 50+1 club again.
As announced by the Bundesliga soccer team, the previous majority shareholder is waiving the exemption that came into effect on July 1, 2015. The “kicker” had previously reported about it. Exceptions in the league remain VfL Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen.
The previous majority shareholder cited the criticism of the Federal Cartel Office regarding the exceptional status of the 50+1 rule and various hostilities against him as reasons for not using the exemption that came into effect on July 1, 2015. “All of this has now caused me to want to give up the special role I was granted in order to restore the status in which we worked together successfully and trustingly before July 1, 2015,” explained Hopp.
Abandoned special status outside of the 50+1 rule
The return means that the Bundesliga soccer club is giving up its special status outside of the 50+1 rule. The regulation, which only applies to German professional football, basically states that the decision-making majority must always remain with the parent club when investing. This is to prevent clubs – such as in England – from being sold completely.
The Bundeskartellamt had classified the 50+1 rule in 2021 as harmless in terms of sports policy, but criticized the three exceptions for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim with majority owner Hopp and the company-controlled clubs Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg. The three clubs are currently exempt from the 50+1 rule because they have been significantly supported by a corporation or investor for more than 20 years. The clarification process is still ongoing.
“Before and after the granting of the exemption, we always acted in the spirit of 50+1. The special status was never intended to undermine or undermine this regulation,” said Hopp according to the announcement. However, the majority stake has repeatedly caused distrust and hostility and has recently been discussed more controversially – right up to the proceedings at the Federal Cartel Office.
“It was never about power for me. I always regarded the privilege that the league association and the members granted me back then as an appreciation of my commitment. I’m still grateful for that today,” said Hopp.
In the next few days, the prerequisites are to be created and final questions about processing are to be clarified with the committees, institutions and the tax authorities involved. A capital outflow is not associated with the step, it said in the club’s announcement.
Source: sportschau.de