Puma buys stake in Borussia Dortmund as club expect to raise over €100m from stock issue
Borussia Dortmund could raise over €100m of fresh capital after issuing 24.5m shares valued at €4.66 (£3.73) each.
The Bundesliga club is hoping to raise around €140m (£112m) from the share issue, which will be used to bring down debt and improve financial resilience, and could potentially fund future investments.
Although the club has made no mention of the funds being directly used on player transfers, by reducing debt Dortmund will have more opportunity to release funds for manager Jürgen Klopp to spend on his squad.
Despite winning the German Super Cup earlier this month, and finishing second in the Bundesliga last season, many of Dortmund's stars have left the club over recent years – most notably playmaker Mario Gotze and striker Robert Lewandowski to rivals Bayern Munich.
Already three companies, including Dortmund's kit manufacturer Puma and stadium sponsor Signal Iduna, have agreed to purchase around €17.6m of shares. Bayern has previously sold stock to sponsors Audi, Allianz and Adidas for a combined €275m
The stock issue comes soon after the club announced a move into Asia by setting up an office in Singapore, its first representative office outside of Germany.
Hans-Joachim Watzke, Dortmund's chief executive officer, commented:
We are delighted that Evonik, Puma and Signal Iduna, three of BVB's most important sponsors, are becoming shareholders.
As an emotionally and positively charged company, Borussia Dortmund will act, also due to its domestic and international appeal, as a veritable partner. These partnerships bring not only financial benefits for BVB, we are also looking forward to an intensive networking with our innovative sponsors in Germany and abroad.
Dortmund, the only listed club in the Bundesliga, had a closing share price of €5 yesterday after the news was announced, however that price has dropped 1.02 per cent per index.