SAFIEL replies to Corinthians president, vows Arena payoff bid | OneFootball

Late this Friday afternoon (28), SAFIEL, the group proposing to turn Corinthians into a Football Corporation (SAF) through the purchase of shares by fans, announced on its social media that it is willing to draw up a binding proposal publicly mentioned by president Osmar Stabile.

According to the statement released by SAFIEL, the Corinthians president accepted the idea of signing a binding proposal with the group, provided there is a commitment to advance part of the amounts proposed in the project. One purpose of the measure would be to make possible the process of paying off the Neo Química Arena — a debt of more than R$ 600 million.

Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

In an interview with ESPN Brasil on Friday morning, Osmar Stabile commented on the meeting with SAFIEL, which lasted about four hours last Monday (24) at Parque São Jorge. At that meeting, he had stated that he would sign the non-binding proposal presented by the group in early June if the group paid off the debt related to the stadium.

“No one (other SAFs) approached us. When you look for a SAF in the market, one may appear; Corinthians has never looked for anyone, never received any offer, except from SAFiel. I’m open to talking to several companies that come here trying to help us. SAFiel, for the first time, officially requested a documented meeting, not by word of mouth, not through the press. There’s no problem at all, we have a date, we have a time. We talked for four hours and understood the way they operate, because just through a project they sent it was impossible to understand. We put our doubts to them and they addressed some of them immediately, and then we will send hundreds of other questions.”

“It’s not simple to come here and say, ‘look, I can solve it.’ We have to be responsible. Talking in the media, turning the public against a management, saying you have the money... It’s easy to prove whether you have money or not, just come here, we’ll hug and cry together, there’s no problem at all. What I need is for the person to come here with funds. There’s a contract there that they say is a binding or non-binding document, and I don’t even want to know about that. Bring R$ 600 million here, pay off the Arena, bring the binding document, and I’ll sign it. It can be binding, because this whole non-binding story isn’t true — once you sign it, in the end it becomes binding. I have no problem at all, I just want to leave the legacy of the Arena being paid off, period,” he said.

In a statement, SAFIEL says it accepts moving forward with the proposal, provided that “the principles of good faith and legal certainty are met.” The movement also stresses that a negotiation of this size must take place in accordance with Corinthians’ bylaws.

The group, whose main backers are Eduardo Salusse and Carlos Teixeira, also said it is committed to following the necessary bureaucratic procedures and plans to begin talks next Monday (31), when it will contact the Corinthians board to give “the immediate start to drafting the new proposal and taking the other necessary steps to structure the operation with the indispensable legal certainty for the parties.”

See SAFIEL’s official statement below:

SAFiel accepts drafting the new binding proposal publicly suggested by President Osmar Stabile and warns of the need for statutory approvals by Corinthians.

Deal, President Osmar Stabile!The President stated that he would sign a Binding Proposal (definitive) with SAFiel upon the commitment to advance part of the total investments provided for in the Project, aiming to make resources available to pay off the Neo Química Arena.

Proposal accepted, provided that the principles of good faith and legal certainty are met.

We also know that a decision of this magnitude involves the statutory procedures of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista. We respect these processes and are ready to go through them with the seriousness and responsibility that Corinthians deserves.

As early as Monday, SAFiel will contact the Corinthians board for the immediate start of drafting the new proposal and the other necessary steps to structure the operation with the indispensable legal certainty for the parties.

On SAFiel Project’s side, there will be no lack of willingness to turn the proposal suggested by the President into a formal and binding commitment.

For Corinthians with responsibility, always.

Operation structure provides for raising between R$ 2.5 billion and R$ 3 billion – Click here to see the full details of the proposal

The proposal provides for the creation of SAFiel as a corporation responsible for fully absorbing the so-called Corinthians “Football Perimeter.” Among the assets that would be transferred are players’ economic and registration rights, sponsorship contracts, licensing, broadcasting, sports and administrative infrastructure, brands, databases, and liabilities tied to football activities.

The model presented sets an initial fundraising target of R$ 2.5 billion, with the possibility of increasing it to up to R$ 3 billion in the event of excess investor demand.

According to the document, the funds raised will be used primarily for the club’s financial restructuring, including the payment or renegotiation of football-related debts, investments in the professional squad, youth academy, infrastructure, technology, and governance and compliance programs. The proposal also provides for an initial contribution of up to R$ 50 million to the social club.

In return for transferring the football operations to the new company, Corinthians would receive an equity stake in the SAF, royalties for the use of the brand and institutional identity — estimated at approximately R$ 600 million over ten years — as well as a fee, a kind of remuneration charge for the partnership and the structuring of the operation, corresponding to 2% of the amount raised.

The project also establishes a model of popular participation. Common voting shares would be allocated exclusively to Corinthians fans, with a minimum investment set at R$ 250. Each CPF would have a maximum holding limit of 2% of the voting capital, a mechanism aimed at preventing the formation of controlling groups and ensuring dispersed ownership. Institutional investors could join only through non-voting preferred shares, if necessary to complete the fundraising.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.