Atlético-GO attracts attention from the market and holds conversations with three potential investors
Balanced accounts and attractive competitions, such as Série A and Sudamericana, are trump cards.
With the recent arrival of foreign investors in teams such as Cruzeiro, Botafogo and Vasco, the expansion of Sociedad Anônimas do Futebol (SAFs) tends to be a reality in Brazil, and Atlético-GO emerges as a potential target, say professionals directly linked to the transformation of “the Dragon” in a corporate-club.
According to Marcos Egídio, administrative director of Dragão, and lawyer Eduardo Carlezzo, whose office in São Paulo was hired to prospect investors abroad, Atlético-GO has been preparing for this moment since 2019, and conversations have intensified in recent months.
Recently, President Adson Batista revealed that the group of American John Textor, who later bought Botafogo's operations, came to negotiate with Atlético-GO. Another investor who probed the Dragon before flirting with América-MG was the billionaire Joseph DaGrosa, also American and owner of Kapital Football Partners.
According to Marcos Egídio, such negotiations did not advance, but were just two of a total of at least five approaches that Atlético-GO has already made in the market. The administrative director says that the club is still currently talking to three other potential investors.
- We’ve talked to some investors who then went on to negotiate with Botafogo (Textor) and América-MG (DaGrosa), but this is just the beginning. We know that the large groups have not even arrived in Brazil, they are still to come. We have three conversations in progress, but calm is needed. I believe that the first ones, who rush, will do bad business, because it is the beginning of the process, as well as those who stay last, because the market will be saturated. Let's look for the middle ground.
In view of this, Atlético-GO does not work with an exact deadline to negotiate its football. Marcos Egídio talks about something in the medium term, from two to four years to tie all the ends. Lawyer Eduardo Carlezzo is also cautious and explains that the process is complex.
- These are negotiations with many details. Selling a football club is not like selling a player. Adson's (Batista) rule for us is to be careful, cautious. The club is not looking for a simple check, but for an investor that gives the club greater status.
Carlezzo, however, claims that some factors benefit Atlético-GO. According to him, important competitions on the calendar and, above all, a balanced financial health are assets for “the Dragon”.
- Several indicators make Atlético-GO an interesting club for investors. The legacy of the current management is financial responsibility. 15 years ago, the club was totally broke. Today, he ended his civil debts and has a commitment to Profut, paying everything up to date, including in the pandemic. When you show this to the investor, it makes a difference. Even with a small budget for Serie A, it achieved expressive results and profit in the last five years. He's back in the Sudamericana and the only reason he didn't go to Libertadores was because of the goal difference.
What is still seen as a possible obstacle to the contribution of foreign capital to Atlético-GO is the business model. How much of the shares would be sold? Who would take control of football in practice? Questions that are still on the table, since investors would hardly be willing to buy less than 51% of the operations, as well as the current board of “the Dragon” does not intend to stay apart from the process.
- This is one of the most difficult issues, because we do not give up control. Adson plays a decisive role in the club's day-to-day activities. At first, one of the conditions would be to trade a maximum of 49% of the shares of Atlético-GO Goianiense S/A - concludes Marcos Egídio.
