Schalke bond unveiled
29.07.2010
Schalke fans will be presented with a financially attractive way of supporting their team on 31 July when for the first time in the club's history it will be possible to subscribe to the FC Schalke 04 bond, which will pay annual interest of 5.5 percent.
"As part of our plans for restructuring the club we decided 18 months ago that we wanted to put Schalke 04 on a new footing," said supervisory board chairman Clemens Tönnies at the Gelsenkirchen-Buer branch of the Volksbank on Wednesday. "Finance was an important part of this. In order to preserve the club's independence, we redeemed long-term bonds that had been limiting us in our actions."
A key component here was the supporter bond, added managing board member Peter Peters. "It offers fans the opportunity to invest in a reputable structure and thus give the club a stable foundation," he said. The prime aim is to ensure that money earned on the pitch is reinvested in football. On the other hand, the money raised from the bond will be used solely to push forward the debt restructuring process.
"I think we'll take in as much as ten million euros through the bond very quickly, but we can add to it as well", an optimistic Tönnies said. "5.5% is decent rate of interest that in the current economic climate cannot be valued too highly," stressed Peters. Interest on the supporters bond, which runs until 2016, will be paid on 1 August every year.
The supporters bond comes in two variants, a high-quality decorative certificate either in a glass frame for hanging on the wall or in globally certificated form for depositing in a securities account. Only a limited number of these exclusive decorative certificates are available. A well-known club representative will be in attendance when the bond is issued, ensuring holders receive an autograph and a photo as well.
"We've been working very closely with Schalke 04 for five years now and are happy to be involved in this offering", said Dieter Blanck, member of the board of Volksbank Ruhr Mitte. "The supporters bond will be issued on two set dates, i.e. 4 and 11 September, and I'm sure Gelsenkirchen is going to be a very busy place again on these days."
