Vitesse saved: five investors complete deal to take over Arnhem football club

Vitesse has found five new shareholders who will take over the club with immediate effect. The new owners have agreed to take over the debt sheet from the US-based investment firm, the Common Group. This was reported by Vitesse in a press release. The club has stated that Vitesse has positive equity for the first time in a while.

The five shareholders are all minority shareholders with less than 25 percent of the shares. Vitesse stated that this means that it is not necessary to go through the approval process of the Dutch Football Association, the KNVB’s licensing committee. The club has now informed the KNVB about the share transfer.

The licensing committee has told ANP that they have received the message from Vitesse. “It is now up to the licensing committee to see whether the deal is correct in accordance with the rules and the agreements previously made with Vitesse,” a spokesperson said.

It has not yet been announced who the new owners are. The new shareholders will soon announce themselves personally to the supporters and stakeholders of Vitesse.

The team is currently bottom of the table in the second division, the Keuken Kampioen Divisie, and was relegated from the Eredivisie last season. They have been involved in a struggle to keep the club alive for months. Vitesse has been looking for new ownership for weeks after the intended savior of the club, Guus Franke, pulled out of the deal during the takeover process last year.

The coming period will be used by the new owners to judge the financial and sporting stability of Vitesse. Regional involvement is of paramount importance to the new owners, according to Vitesse.