NAt the extraordinary general meeting held at the Pavilhão Desportivo Unit Vimaranense, which lasted more than six hours and included 19 interventions from members, 717 members voted in favor of the sale and 468 voted against, leaving six blank votes and four null votes, announced the chairman of the general assembly board, Luís Filipe Silva, after the act carried out by secret vote.
Following the decision taken, the company that owns Aston Villa, an English Premier League club that competes in the Champions League, will deliver two million euros (ME) to the Guimarães club, which, in turn, will invest it in SAD’s share capital and directly invest 1.8 ME in SAD, in an operation involving a total of 3.8 ME.
The approval of the transfer of 17% of the shares restores the scenario approved at the extraordinary general meeting on March 3rd, when the majority of members present voted in favor of the sale of 46% of the shares to V Sports, upon payment of 5.5 ME and an additional donation of two ME to invest in infrastructure.
Egyptian Nassef Sawiris and American Wesley Edens, billionaire owners of V Sports, took up seats on the board of directors of the Victorian SAD on May 23, 2023 and left their positions 37 days later, on June 29.
The fund then reduced its stake in SAD to 29% to comply with “all UEFA determinations” regarding the “independence of both sports societies”, as Vitória announced at the time, and withdrew the donation of two ME for infrastructure, which it now returns, restoring the stake to 46%.
During the three information sessions for members, held throughout October, in the auditorium of the D. Afonso Henriques Stadium, the legal team of SAD Guimarães clarified that the 17% recently acquired by V Sports will be managed by a ‘blind trust’.
The legal figure allows an independent entity to manage this percentage of SAD and exercise voting rights without receiving instructions from the owner, to avoid possible conflicts of interest between Vitória, the majority shareholder, with 50.84% of the capital, and V Sports, ensuring compliance with UEFA’s multi-ownership rule.
The president of the club and SAD, Rui Rodrigues, also said that the club will maintain three seats on the board of directors and V Sports will regain the two it previously occupied, having revealed the names of the future administrators.
The company owned by Nassef Sawiris, Wes Edens and now by the North American investment fund Atairos will be represented by the Spaniard Roberto Olabe, sporting director of Aston Villa, after having held that position at Real Sociedad, and by the Canadian Bashir Lebada, president of the Birmingham club’s women’s team.
The agreement between the Minho club and V Sports also provides for the commitment to develop, within 60 working days, “a plan to restructure part of the debt” of SAD, between 20 ME and 30 ME, after the Guimarães have concluded the 2025/26 season with total liabilities exceeding 85 ME, a net liability above 57 ME and equity of negative 37 ME.
The partnership also includes the possibility of Vitória de Guimarães receiving up to six Aston Villa players each season, two for the main team, two for the B team, which plays in League 3, and two for the under-19 team.
The agreement also provides that “strategic decisions” must receive the approval of at least 60% of the share capital, which requires agreement between Vitória and V Sports.
Vitória de Guimarães’ SAD was established on April 10, 2013, with Mário Ferreira, a Portuguese businessman based in South Africa, as the majority shareholder, and the club with 40% of the capital, although with some special rights, such as vetoing changes to the SAD statutes.
On October 1, 2021, the Guimarães emblem announced the purchase of shares held by the company MAF, owned by Mário Ferreira, corresponding to 56.4% of the share capital, for 6.5 ME, thus becoming in possession of more than 96% of the capital.
