FC Spartak Owner Fedun Plans To Take Club Public After Completion Of New Stadium

Lukoil VP and FC Spartak Moscow Owner Leonid Fedun said that he has spent almost $1B "to return Spartak Moscow to the glory it achieved in his youth, when it was Russia’s top soccer club" and plans to "take the team public after building a new stadium," according to Panja & Chilcote of BLOOMBERG. The former Soviet army officer has spent about $60M annually on Spartak, "known as the People’s Team." Spartak "won all but one of the first 10 league championships following the collapse of the Soviet Union." It hasn’t secured the title since '01 and "has been surpassed by its Moscow rivals and Zenit St. Petersburg." Fedun "acquired the team eight years ago" and has spent $500M on a new 50,000-seat stadium to be completed this year. Revenue has grown from about $4M to about $60M "during his ownership." Fedun, 56, said, "After 2017, Spartak will increase their revenue maybe by three or four times. My dream is to organize the IPO of Spartak in maybe 2017, 2018 and I can get a return on some of my investment" (BLOOMBERG, 3/11).