At least there will be no lack of affection in distant countries for Hertha BSC in the near future. Or: to emojis in the wondrous world of social networks.
On Sunday evening, the Italian second division club FC Genoa won their game against Ternana Calcio 1-0, making immediate promotion to Serie A a little more likely; Genoa is second in Serie B. In distant Brazil, the traditional Brazilian club Vasco da Gama immediately acknowledged the victory on Twitter – with a tense upper arm and a rocket taking off, which were draped under the winning tweet from Genoa.
So much attention is not without reason: Vasco da Gama and Genoa belong to “777 Partners”, a private equity firm from Miami, USA, which has just expanded its galaxy to include another star that has recently died out badly: Hertha BSC.
You are attending “a funeral service,” emphasizes Bernstein, to the astonishment of the room
Joshua Wander, one of the owners of “Triple Seven,” introduced himself to the media on Monday midday, and he made very subtle references to his new acquisition, by wearing mostly blue attire. After all, he wore a Hertha blue tie with his dark business suit, which – at least at first glance – showed more (white) points than Hertha has collected in the Bundesliga since 2019.
2019 – that was the keyword that Hertha President Kay Bernstein mentioned and that founded the new liaison. 2019 was the year in which former Hertha investor Lars Windhorst got involved, who has now sold his shares in Wanders Triple Seven.
If you like, you’re attending a “funeral service”, Bernstein emphasized to the amazement of the hall: “We have great hope that the label ‘Big City Club’ will be buried today”, the “time of megalomania”. now finally over. “Big City Club” – that was the term that Windhorst came up with in connection with Hertha – and a synonym for unrest, numerous changes of coach, “the money that we burned”, as Bernstein said. Now Hertha should become a kind of big business club. At least that’s what Wander said, who on the one hand wanted to come across as romantic (“this is an awesome moment”), but on the other hand is a businessman who commands billions. In 2023, people in Europe would have understood that football clubs “should not be run like clubs, but like a business,” said Wander.
Hertha President Bernstein didn’t get cold about it, although he used to be the lead singer of the Hertha Ultras in the east stand of the Olympic Stadium: “It’s a very good day for Hertha.” He understands the fans who are worried about their club, you just have to take them with you. Which brings us back to the bare, cold numbers.
The deal still has to be approved by the DFL. Objections are not expected
Whereby: Wander did not reveal how much money he paid Windhorst for around 64 percent of Hertha’s professional department for reasons of strict confidentiality. The amount is reportedly well below the sum of the 374 million euros that Windhorst has paid since the ominous year 2019 and Hertha has “burned” to pick up Bernstein’s verb.
However, Wander confirmed that Hertha had been promised a total of 100 million. Apparently almost a third of this sum flows more or less immediately. This is probably a blessing for Hertha, to put it mildly. Because it could be speculated excellently whether the license for Hertha would have been in danger if the deal with Triple Seven had failed. Hertha expects another high loss (64 million euros) and negative equity of 15 million euros for the current financial year; Liabilities of almost 90 million euros must be serviced by the end of the year.
Hertha Managing Director Thomas Herrich explained that the agreement with 777 Partners is “a central building block” in demonstrating the company’s ability to act economically and in reducing past liabilities. According to Herrich, the deal still has to be approved by the German Football League DFL; she must ensure that the entry complies with the specifications of the “50+1 rule”. It limits the influence of investors in Germany. “We have full respect for how football is organized in Germany. It’s a partnership,” emphasized Wander. Hertha does not expect any objections from the DFL.
Triple Seven, which is also active in the aviation industry, the media industry and (financial) services, among other things, has grown into one of the most prominent players in the growing market of companies that control several clubs in recent years. In September, the Swiss Center International d’Étude du Sport (CIES) came up with around 200 clubs worldwide that are subject to so-called “multi-club ownership” structures. Triple Seven is not only represented at Hertha, FC Genoa and Vasco da Gama, but also owns Red Star Paris, Standard Liège (Belgium), Melbourne Victory (Australia) and FC Sevilla (Spain). Unlike Red Bull (Leipzig, Salzburg, New York, Bragança/Brazil), for example, there is no hierarchy among the clubs at Triple Seven, Wander emphasized. When asked whether his commitment was linked to specific financial or sporting goals, he replied: “No”.
The investor was “of course involved” in the dismissal of manager Fredi Bobic
So what? Of course, you aim for returns, in the long term. One hopes for “synergies” in business areas that are comparable to the clubs – for example in areas such as marketing, functionality, technology. There will also be points of contact in the sporting field, primarily under the supervision of Johannes Spors from Heidelberg, who has worked for RB Leipzig and Hamburger SV in Germany, among others, and is now “Global Sports Director” at Triple Seven.
One will work with Hertha, said Wander – and has probably already done so in the past few weeks. Triple Seven was “of course involved” in the dismissal of manager Fredi Bobic – who is taking legal action against his immediate dismissal – as well as in various transfer activities. “It’s something completely normal when you exchange ideas,” said Bernstein.
What will not happen in any case: Hertha life on a broad footing when the transfer window is open again. If you think it makes sense, you will “invest more money,” Wander said, but he also emphasized that he was concerned with financial sustainability. “The megalomania of the past few years is over,” said Bernstein, alluding to the times as a big city club.
