Sam Baro is one of the candidate investors at AA Gent. An American party is also interested. — © if
Sam Baro, a 46-year-old entrepreneur from Assenede, is a candidate to invest in AA Gent. However, he is not alone. American billionaire Bill Foley (78), who also owns Premier League club Bournemouth since last year, is also sniffing at the Buffalos.
Sander Luyten and Koen Van Uytvange
Yesterday at 11:22
Behind the scenes, AA Gent has been looking for external investors or even potential buyers for some time now. The club is financially healthy, but wants to remain competitive with other Belgian top clubs. The search is conducted with the necessary caution, in order to filter out questionable lenders. That is why it is a long-term work.
Chairman Ivan De Witte already indicated that he did not want to commit himself to the June 30 deadline, but a decision may be made soon. If this turns out positively, the club must also adopt a different legal structure than the current CVBA with a social purpose. Fresh money, in a new corporate form, could give the club more oxygen in the upcoming transfer market.
The Belgian candidate investor is Sam Baro, a 46-year-old successful entrepreneur from Assenede. Baro runs an HR company that employs more than 1,800 employees, but does not have pockets as deep as Antwerp owner Paul Gheysens or Marc Coucke van Anderlecht. His estimated capital is ‘only’ 39.5 million euros, which immediately raises questions about how much he can put on the table for a football club. Unless he gets financial backing from elsewhere, Baro looks more like a modest would-be investor than a potential acquirer.
De Witte and Louwagie
Whether Sam Baro will effectively join AA Gent is far from certain. The 78-year-old American billionaire Bill Foley has also reported. In addition to owner of Premier League club Bournemouth, he is also boss of Fidelity National, a financial services company that has recorded billions in profits in recent years. In the meantime, the city of Ghent no longer opposes interference from outside Belgium. However, a scenario in which external capital is not forthcoming immediately cannot be ruled out either.
The arrival of new directors does not mean that the tandem Ivan De Witte-Michel Louwagie has to disappear immediately. “I am entering my 25th year as chairman. That could be a good time to conclude”, said chairman De Witte recently at the presentation of the new main sponsor Baloise. Last year, when trainer Hein Vanhaezebrouck extended his contract until 2024, De Witte and Louwagie also committed to stay on board for the same amount of time.
