September 20 – Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund has agreed to the raising of €86.5 million via an increase in share capital. The new money will be used to cover the economic impact of the global pandemic on its finances.
Borussia Dortmund will issue a total of 18,396,220 new shares at a subscription price of €4.70 per share. The shares will be offered initially to existing shareholders at a ratio of 5:1 – five existing shares entitle holders to subscribe for one new share.
The club said that the all the shares have already been placed and that the capital increase will be finalised by October 8.
In Auguts Dortmund reported a loss of €72.8 million for the 2021/21 financial year, up from the €44 million loss reported in the previous year.
The club blamed the increase in losses on restriction on matchday, conference and catering income imposed by covid, as well as reporting a drop in transfer earnings.
The sale of Jadon Sancho to Manchester United this summer will boost Dortmund’s finances, but not in the current figures. Dortmund reported his sale price as €85 million of which about €56 million will benefit the club in the 2021/22 financial year.
The biggest hit on Borussia’s revenues was from ticket sales, which dropped from €32.5 million in the previous season to just €0.6 million.
Commenting on the capital raise, club CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said: “With this capital increase, Borussia Dortmund has reached a major milestone in overcoming the economic impact it already had to endure as a result of the pandemic. We intend to use the proceeds from the capital increase primarily to repay financial liabilities and to compensate for potential further losses the Company might incur from new and currently unexpected Covid-19-related measures or restrictions on the Company’s business activities and from fluctuations in liquidity during the ongoing business year.”
The speed at which the club was able to access the new money highlighted the strength of its shareholder base, said club managing director Thomas Treß.
“The liquidity obtained by means of the capital increase compensates for the economic strain we so far experienced due to the pandemic, and it strengthens our financial stability. The fact that we were able to secure a full placement at such an early stage is also a sign of the trust the capital market has in our company.”
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