One of the richest Czechs, Daniel Křetínský, will significantly increase his share in the AC Sparta Prague football club. Although Křetínský has been the club’s main face for a long time, in reality only ten percent belonged to the billionaire in Sparta. The majority was accounted for by the structures around the J&T Group, which were mostly companies in various tax havens.
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This will now change, following the example of the Křetín holding company EPH. This will culminate in the transformation of Sparta’s ownership track, about which information began to appear as early as 2019.
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“We cannot yet comment on this, the changes must be approved by the Office for the Protection of Competition,” said Daniel Častvaj, a spokesman for the Křetín Group, without further comment.
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The change will include an increase in Sparta’s share capital by half a billion crowns, which the club announced in the Commercial Register. This will happen through the issuance of new shares, in favor of the company’s 1890s holdings. It is the parent company of Sparta. The company will pay the price by offsetting its half-billion receivables resulting from two loans it has provided to the club in the previous two years.
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Economic results of the AC Sparta Prague club
- financial year 2018/19: CZK +312 million
- financial year 2019/20: CZK -471 million
- financial year 2020/21: CZK -315 million
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“Daniel Křetínský and EPH managers will have 56 percent Sparta. It will be a similar ownership structure, as in the case of EPH, “said a source familiar with the form of the transaction, who did not wish to be named.
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In the EPH holding, Křetínský and its managers indirectly control 56 percent of the shares. The rest belongs through J&T Capital Partners to the Slovak businessman Patrik Tkáč from the J&T Group.
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In addition to Sparta, Křetínský also acquired a minority stake in the English club West Ham United last year. He joined the club from the Premier League through the company 1890s holdings, with which he also controls Sparta.
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