The first step for the transfer of the majority stake of Panathinaikos to Saudi Prince Sultan al-Saud was taken last Wednesday with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the lawyers of current major shareholder Yiannis Vardinoyannis and the prince, the two sides jointly announced. The Saudi prince will be buying 54.7 per cent of the financially-troubled club’s shares which are owned by Vardinoyannis whose family has held the majority stake for the last 32 years.
“We’re now talking about a 100 per cent new period for Panathinaikos,” Vlassis Tsakas, a representative of the prince in Greece told Athens radio station Sentra FM. “On Friday we officially begin work. We have no reason not to celebrate today.”
On Friday representatives of the Saudi prince will begin a two-week financial and legal inspection of Panathinaikos and if the outcome is positive, then the new buyer must deposit 15 million euros in a special account of Panathinaikos by 21 November and the shares will belong to him. A general assembly of the team’s shareholders will be held later this month in which the 26-year-old Saudi prince will participate.
A proposal by the Saudi prince released last month called for an investment of 220 million euros in Panathinaikos, including a 150 million euros for the construction of a new 48,000-seat stadium for the club to be completed by the prince’s own construction company. Tsakas said Saudi Prince Sultan al-Saud will be coming to Athens next week to meet with team officials.
