ZAGREB, March 14 (Reuters) - Hajduk Split will become the first Croatian club to be privatised and its shares will also be offered to supporters, local media reported on Friday.
According to a new sports bill, aimed at regulating legal
and financial aspects of soccer, all clubs that have debts will
have to be privatised to avoid bankruptcy.
Others can remain 'associations of citizens' a status all
local sport clubs have, or they can seek an owner.
Hajduk Split, six-times Croatian and 11-times Yugoslav
champions, are one of the several top flight clubs that have
amassed debts since Croatia became independent from Yugoslavia
in 1991. Hajduk owe about 300 million kuna ($64.43 million).
The sports ministry's commission is due to approve the start
of Hajduk's privatisation process on Friday.
'The ministry's commission for professional (soccer) clubs
will start working today and will closely follow the legal
transformation of Hajduk Split,' the Vecernji List daily
reported.
A Split-based daily, Slobodna Dalmacija, said the process
should be completed by the start of next season.
The largest portion of Hajduk's debt, some 245 million kuna
in unpaid taxes, is owned to the state, which has up to now
avoided claiming payment because officials did not want the
popular club to go bankrupt. The remaining debt is owed to
former players.
The state will turn its claim into an ownership stake and
become the largest Hajduk shareholder. It will then transfer its
stake to the city of Split authorities, who will choose whether
to remain the majority owner or sell the stake to someone else.
No one will be able to buy shares worth more than 25 percent
of Hajduk's base capital without approval of the commission for
professional clubs, to prevent any speculative deals.
Some Hajduk shares will also be offered to former players
with outstanding claims and the club's supporters, known as
'Torcida', will be able to buy the remaining stock.
'I expect that at least 30,000 of our fans will show an
interest in buying shares,' Hajduk's senior official Mirko
Klaric told Slobodna Dalmacija.
Klaric said it was difficult to estimate Hajduk's market
value which would also depend on how many supporters and
citizens would want to become shareholders.
