Spanish Third Division Side Racing Santander On Rocks After Capital Increase Flop

Spanish third division side Racing Santander’s future "looked bleak on Thursday after the cash-strapped Spanish club said a capital increase designed to save them from financial ruin" raised €33,664 ($45,995) and "had to be abandoned," according to Iain Rogers of REUTERS. The club, which was "mired in bankruptcy proceedings and relegated twice in the past two seasons," was looking to raise €3M ($4.1M) in the first phase of the operation. Santander hoped "eventually to reap a total" of €25M ($34M) to "prevent them from folding but would now have to rethink their strategy after failing to attract anywhere near the required amount of investment." Santander President Angel Lavin: "The majority of shareholders let the first phase pass without moving to take control. The second phase ended and still nobody wanted to step up. And the third phase, open to any investor, ... also concluded without anyone wanting to own the company" (REUTERS, 10/17).