VfB Stuttgart, which was hit by the Corona crisis, can look forward to a huge cash injection: car manufacturers Porsche is to join the Bundesliga soccer club as an investor. The company from the Baden-Württemberg state capital will acquire shares in VfB AG “on the same scale” as Mercedes-Benz once did, explained VfB CEO Alexander Wehrle (48) at a joint press conference in the Stuttgart stadium on Tuesday. Five percent are planned for this summer and then another tranche within the next twelve months. Mercedes paid 41.5 million euros in 2017 for 11.75 percent of the shares in the outsourced professional department.
In addition to his entry into the AG, Porsche will take on several sponsorship packages at VfB – especially in the youth academy. According to Wehrle, the total volume amounts to a good 100 million euros. The last formalities should be clarified by the end of July. The deputy Porsche boss Lutz Meschke (57) emphasized that the entry was “collaborating closely” with Mercedes. “We don’t come here to replace someone. Rather, our intention is to join forces – from the region and for the region.”
In addition, the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer wants to replace Mercedes as the namesake of its stadium. The former GottliebDaimlerThe stadium will in future be called “MHP Arena”, after the Ludwigsburg IT and management consulting subsidiary of Porsche AG. Mercedes is giving up the naming rights to the stadium to the Porsche subsidiary on July 1. The arena, which is currently being renovated, should therefore be called the MHP Arena for at least the next ten years. Originally, the company had secured the naming rights to the stadium for 30 years. In November last year, manager magazin reported, citing insiders, that Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius (54)
wanted to noticeably reduce his commitment to the football club.
Shirt sponsor wanted
In the press release of VfB Stuttgart
it also means that the involvement of Mercedes-Benz as the main and jersey partner ends in the new constellation. The club wants to market these rights for the new season. “With the strong new alliance behind us, we are confident that the marketing of our top rights on the chest and sleeve will pick up speed in the coming days (…)”, says Marketing Director Rouven Kasper. Mercedes will remain with the club as an anchor investor and sponsor.
VfB Stuttgart would be the third Bundesliga club that a company from the VolkswagenGroup involved. VfL Wolfsburg is fully owned by VW, and the subsidiary Audi – alongside Adidas and Allianz – holds 8.33 percent of FC Bayern Munich. MHP has already given its name to the Bundesliga basketball club “MHP Riesen” from Ludwigsburg, whose sports hall is also known as the “MHP Arena”.