Pan Asia Put Offer For Panathinaikos
 

In the last few days, a new development has occured at Panathinaikos. In what will come as no shock to a fan base used to new takeover rumours, Swiss-based Pan Asia Investments has now entered the frame to buy the Athenian giants. There are, however, 6 boundaries that may prohibit any possible takeover. Their proposal concerns the purchase of the total stake of Panathinaikos, not part of it.

Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage from AGONAsport.com!

As far as the financial aspect is concerned, the proposal includes the payment of 13 million Euro for the acquisition of both the majority shareholding and any other assets held by club management. A major aspect of the proposal involves Pan Asia buying a debt free club. This means Panathinaikos would need to be debt free in every way - owing nothing to players, coaches and other clubs for instance. In order for this to happen, Giannis Alafouzos must pay all remaining debts to hand over a “clean” club.

The original proposal included a specific timetable as an agreement had be reached by the 15th of July, 2018. After this date, if nothing has been agreed upon, Pan Asia will retract their interest. The actual takeover itself must be completed by the aforementioned date and 5 days would be required for all relevant parties to sign off on the deal, meaning that it had to be sorted by the 10th of July, 2018.

Since then, Pan Asia have issued a statement forcing Alafouzos to respond to their initial offer by Friday. The group wants a clearer position within a shorter time period. Even if Alafouzos was not happy with the offer, the group has also indicated they would be willing to renegotiate, however, this is unlikely. If Alafouzos is happy, he is urged to start talking about “next steps”. Either way, the ball is firmly in Alafouzos’ court.

Whilst Alafouzos has not made a clear-cut response to this, he has come out and said he does not “ask for money” as he is “putting money on Panathinaikos”. In addition to this, Dimitris Giannakopoulos has become increasingly annoyed by the news Alafouzos has responded to takeover rumours as he claims this has not happened. In fact, Giannakopoulos claims he has not heard back from Alafouzos in over a month.

In relation to the well-publicised “Athens Alive OAKA” project, there is still hope this will get Government approval, however, Giannakopoulos has called for patience by all as such a project requires serious consideration. It is still believed Giannakopoulos’ bid largely hinges on obtaining approval for this project. 

Back to Pan Asia. There are 6 terms they have enforced in order for their deal to happen. 

• Firstly, the sellers must provide appropriate guarantees in the event shares are not surrendered free of any liabilities, taxes, mortgages and loans. 
• The team cannot be relegated to any lower league of football. 
• Cancel the buyer’s Board of Directors within 48 hours of signing the deal. 
• Approval from the buyer’s and seller’s Board of Directors. 
• Due diligence with all the legal, finance and taxation aspects of the deal. 
• Resolve all licenses necessary to achieve the proposed transaction with reasonable satisfaction from both sides.

Spyros Theodoropoulos, CEO of Chipita, was originally thought to be the person who led the Thai businessmen to Panathinaikos, but this has not been confirmed. Theodoropoulos has been a lifelong Panathinaikos fan and is still close with Alafouzos. He was linked with a move to aid the club’s finances late last year.

In other news, Tasos Avlonitis has terminated his contract with the club by mutual agreement. The uncertainty surrounding the club off the field reportedly led to his decision. The experienced defender made 6 appearances for the Greens, 5 as a starter. He is seeking more off-field stability in the next stage of his career.

As it can be observed, the future of Panathinaikos is still as unclear as it has ever been, but at least there is now more than one offer for Alafouzos and Co to seriously consider. It is not known which of the two proposals Alafouzos prefers, if any.
 

by Nick Tsambouniaris

Image Source: sdna.gr

Thank you for visiting AGONAsport.com, the only English based website for Greek sports fans across the world! Like us on Facebook , follow us on   Instagram, and Twitter  for all the latest news in Greek Sports!