Benfica weighs blocking US fund’s stake purchase

Benfica is assessing whether to use its internal rules to block US investor Tim Leiweke from acquiring a stake in Benfica SAD, the club’s listed football company, in a case that matters for investors because the statutes allow Benfica to stop share purchases by parties with interests in other clubs.

According to the material provided, Benfica has told members of Leiweke’s team that Article 13 of the club’s statutes gives it the right to block acquisitions of more than 2% by investors deemed to have competing interests. The issue is that Leiweke holds investments in other European clubs, including in Italy. No final decision has been taken and the transaction could still go ahead.

Leiweke and his daughter, Francesca Bodie, recently led a consortium that invested about €100 million in Italian club Venezia FC. In April, Entrepreneur Equity Partners SPV V, LLC agreed to buy a 16% stake in Benfica SAD from businessman José António dos Santos, known as the “Chicken King”. The Americans reportedly paid more than €10 per share, when the stock had closed at €6.46 the previous day.

Bloomberg noted that Benfica used the same clause in 2022 to block the entry of John Textor. Benfica SAD shares closed at €7.04 on Tuesday, down more than 3% from the previous session, giving the company a market value of €161.9 million.

Originally published at Eco.pt