Dispute escalates: Windhorst offers Hertha his shares

Created: 2022-10-05Updated: 2022-10-05 21:07

Investor Lars Windhorst.

© Soeren Stache/dpa/archive image

At the end of a collaboration full of misunderstandings, there is a scandal.

Investor Windhorst offers Hertha BSC to buy back its shares.

But despite the announcement, the cause is likely to drag on.

Berlin – It is the final break in the strained relationship between Hertha BSC and investor Lars Windhorst.

After the recent scandal surrounding an alleged campaign by an Israeli security company, the investor wants to end its cooperation with the Bundesliga soccer team.

He offers the capital club to buy back the shares purchased for 374 million euros.

In a statement made available to the German Press Agency, Windhorst judged that the current President Kay Bernstein was "clearly not interested in a trusting and serious cooperation".

There is no basis and no perspective anymore, wrote the investor who joined Hertha in 2019 with his Tennor Group.

The club rejected the allegations in the evening.

"Lars Windhorst's Facebook post from this afternoon does not correspond to what was discussed and agreed.

The other allegations made therein are inaccurate,” it said in a statement.

It is still largely unclear how the Berliners will continue.

A repurchase of Windhorst's shares should not be financially feasible for Hertha.

It seems unlikely that Windhorst will find another buyer for the price.

The club stated: "Hertha BSC offers Tennor assistance in finding a buyer in an orderly investor process in the best interests of Hertha BSC and Tennor's investors and creditors."

Since the election of Bernstein in the summer, as an ex-ultra not a natural friend of investors in football, there had been a truce between the club and Windhorst.

Until explosive media reports appeared last Thursday: The investor is said to have initiated a campaign against Bernstein's predecessor and Windhorst's opponent Werner Gegenbauer via an Israeli agency.

Windhorst dismissed this as nonsense.

Hertha asked the 45-year-old for a written statement the next day and also had the cause checked by a law firm.

Much to Windhorst's displeasure: "Instead of working with us to clarify the matter, President Bernstein decided to join the preliminary convictions without examining the evidence," he described the approach of the new club management from his point of view.

In a conversation with them, the President named "the break with Tennor" as the goal of his activities.

The club contradicted this representation: "Hertha BSC, Kay Bernstein or any other representative of the club have never made any prejudiced statements to Lars Windhorst or Tennor in public.".

In addition, the Berliners referred to a conversation Tennor wanted with Bernstein and the chairman of the supervisory board, Klaus Brüggemann, about the cause that had taken place.

Bernstein and the club have been trying to improve communication with Windhorst since the summer.

The investor previously stated that under the current conditions, further cooperation for the benefit of Hertha BSC is impossible, economic and sporting goals cannot be achieved in this way, "and the essential basis of our commitment to Hertha BSC has been destroyed".

He will therefore end his involvement with Hertha and officially offer the club "to buy back our majority stake of 64.7% at the purchase price at the time".

As the “Spiegel” reported, the Hertha Presidium wanted to decide on Wednesday evening about an application for Windhorst to be excluded from the club.

The club pointed out that they generally do not comment on the content of the regular meetings in advance.

If Windhorst were to be excluded from the association, the Berlin association court would decide if the presidium applied.

Exclusion would not change Tennor's status as a shareholder.

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Since joining the Bundesliga, Windhorst has invested a one-time sum of 374 million in the club through his Tennor group.

The money, most of which has now been used up, went into transfers, paying off debt and surviving the Corona crisis.

In terms of sport, this did not have a positive impact: class warfare reality instead of big city club dreams.

Even now, the gap to 16th place is just two points despite encouraging performances by the team.

In addition, there were always differences between the investor and the club: sometimes it was about the punctuality of payments, sometimes about the feud between Windhorst and Gegenbauer, sometimes about the appointment of Jürgen Klinsmann as coach.

Hertha didn't rest until the summer - now, after just a few months of breather, she's back for the time being.

dpa