An unidentified company from Saudi Arabia has deposited 15 million
euros in a Jeddah-based bank, destined for the acquisition of the
majority stake at Panathinaikos, according to reports.
Greek
businessman Vlassis Tsakas who was supposed to act as the go-between for
Saudi Prince Sultan al-Saud has apparently brokered a deal that does
not include the 26-year prince but involves a company that has a number
of Saudi princes in it.
The only confirmed piece of information
concerns the reception by the legal team of Panathinaikos major
shareholder Yiannis Vardinoyiannis on Wednesday of a detailed bid for
his 57-percent stake in the Athens giants, in accordance with the
Memorandum of Understanding that his and the Saudi prince’s sides signed
last month.
However, the fact that Sultan al-Saud does not
appear at all in the bid raises a number of questions and puts into
doubt the completion of the deal, at least as was originally agreed.
The
amount of 15 million euros was deposited at the National Commercial
Bank of Saudi Arabia, according to Vardinoyiannis’s lawyers, who would
now need to make a thorough investigation regarding the origin of the
money.
Early
indications show that the documents forwarded are complete and could
actually contain a genuine offer that might change the fortune of
Panathinaikos, who according to its acting president, Dimitris Gontikas,
has only got enough cash until February.
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