By Mark Baber
August 26 – Bayer 04 Leverkusen have settled the outstanding case with Teldafax following a recommendation from the Higher Regional Court in Cologne, thereby ending a long-running legal dispute with the insolvency receiver involved with the TelDaFax companies.
TelDaFax was the main sponsor of Bayer 04 Leverkusen from August 2007 to June 2011 but it has since emerged that its business model was essentially a kind of Ponzi scheme in which consumers were promised cheap electricity at a price which did not cover the company’s expenses, in return for paying up front. When the scheme collapsed over 700,000 people were left out of pocket.
Under German law payments made by insolvent companies can, under certain circumstances, be reclaimed by creditors. After the District Court in Bonn opened bankruptcy proceedings against the TelDaFax Group, in September 2011, the receiver demanded the repayment of the sponsorship payments made by TelDaFax to Bayer in the sum of €16 million, claiming the club must have been aware that Teldafax, at the time Germany’s biggest independent discount electricity and gas supplier, was insolvent at the time the money was paid over.
In October 2014, the Regional Court in Cologne agreed with the receiver’s claim but Bayer lodged an appeal with the Higher Regional Court in Cologne. That court proposed a settlement that involved repayment of 50% the money received from TelDaFax for a set period of the sponsorship deal. In place of the original claim of around €16 million plus interest, Bayer would now pay around €10.9 million plus interest. According to a statement of the club, Bayer made financial provision for that scenario during that period so that the settlement would not affect the club.
Bayer’s CEO Michael Schade commented on the resolution of the case saying: “We decided to accept the settlement to bring an end to a legal case that has already lasted a number of years. Continuing the legal proceedings would probably have lasted for lasted for several more years. The costs and interest would have continued to mount. Instead of pursuing the legal option we want to focus on our core business of playing football.”
The club’s focus on football will be on display this evening as they face Lazio in the BayArena in the Champions League.
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