The board of Hannover 96 eV wants to instruct managing director Martin Kind to vote against the entry of an investor into the DFL. Child approves of the business. The case primarily affects the 50+1 rule.
Kind, the most powerful man at the second division club for decades and managing director of the outsourced limited partnership of Hannover 96, is considered a supporter of the investor entry, which the 36 DFL clubs will vote on on Monday (December 11, 2023).
The management of the DFL can count on Kind’s “yes”, but the parent club of 96 is now joining her in the parade. A letter available to the Sportschau states: “In this context, the board of the Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896 eV has instructed Mr. Martin Kind to exercise the right to speak and vote for Hannover 96 exclusively to the extent that the deal is fundamentally rejected.”
If the DFL does not ensure that the child follows the instructions, the club will demand that the vote be postponed, the letter continues.
DFL: The parent club has “unrestricted right to issue instructions”
Against the background of the 50+1 rule, the letter is explosive, because the DFL once again stated in 2022 that Hannover 96 eV has an “unrestricted right to issue instructions to the management of Hannover 96 Management GmbH”, i.e. to Kind.
At Sportschau’s request, Hannover 96 KGaA announced that it would not comment on voting behavior at the DFL general meeting. A spokesman only confirmed that Kind would be present in Frankfurt. There is no statement from the DFL yet.
Club criticizes child: No information about the deal provided
In the letter, the board of the parent association alleges that the 79-year-old child has kept important information about the investor issue to himself or is still doing so to this day. It literally says: “The relevant documents were only made available to the parent club a few days ago, and only as a result of an instruction. The members of the supervisory board of the professional company have not yet received the documents at all.”
There was also no conversation between the parties, who have been in conflict for years.
If the DFL does not ensure that the child follows the instructions, the club will demand that the vote be postponed, the letter continues. The association is alluding to the planned secret vote, in which no one would be able to understand how children vote. The other way around: The parent association is calling for the vote to be postponed and should not be voted on openly.
The 50+1 rule states that the majority of shares in a club should always be in the hands of the members. The influence of investors is therefore limited.
