Sampdoria, Merlyn retires: ‘The majority shareholder doesn’t want to fold’

Black smoke. Alessandro Barnaba and Merlyn Advisors, the management company of the Merlyn Partners fund, definitively renounces the possibility of taking over Sampdoria to relaunch it. And, now, the ball passes to the Ferrero family, who are looking for the financial resources to carry on independently. The decision was communicated by Barnaba himself today during the shareholders’ meeting, which was deserted in the first call due to the foreseen absence of the majority shareholder. “His unwillingness to pass the hand in such a delicate situation for the Club, the unwillingness of the two main creditor banks of the Company to consider a debt restructuring plan as well as the decision of the Sampdoria board of directors not to proceed with the reduction of the share capital due to losses eliminate the necessary conditions for Merlyn Partners SCSp to invest up to 50 million euros in UC Sampdoria and immediately start an industrial and financial recovery plan, creating the conditions for the sporting relaunch of the Club”. This is the announcement contained in a long press release which, in fact, denounces the insolvency of the Sampdoria club.

WORRYING PICTURE

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“With great regret – reads the note from Barnaba himself – I have to note that there was no interest on the part of the current owners in finding a solution that would have allowed Merlyn to save and subsequently relaunch Sampdoria. lack of the conditions we deem necessary, we have to note that there are no conditions for us to be able to subscribe to the capital increase that the company needs and we are therefore forced to give up on what would have been a new difficult but highly fascinating and important challenge “. A possible relaunch also thanks to a sporting synergy with Lilla, a club in the sphere of Merlyn’s interests. According to Merlyn, the Sampdoria future is at risk: “One of the main objectives was to avoid the risk that the Club’s difficult financial situation could lead to the loss of the sporting title (with the consequent need for the team to restart from Serie D or Serie C in best of cases) and to proceed with its relaunch”. How? With a capital increase of thirty million and a loan of a further twenty, to begin with, with the aim of restructuring “the enormous amount of debt (financial and otherwise) accumulated above all over the last 2 years”.

THE SCENARIOS

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Now, therefore, the ball passes into the hands of former president Ferrero. Who has been trying for weeks to independently recover the financial resources to go ahead alone in the management of Sampdoria, probably by pledging the entire Sampdoria share capital. Admitted, however, to succeed in the intent. As time goes by and the need for fresh resources grows for the survival of the club.