La Liga Valencia President Amadeo Salvo "evaluated the sale process in which his club is immersed after the close of the period for bidders to present their offers," according to Conrado Valle of AS. Salvo "understandably" expressed his "frustration because 'as soon as the period opened, names of bidders and even the conditions of their offers began spreading.'" Salvo "pointed out that the process is subject to confidential contracts that have been broken." Below are excerpts from a Q&A in which Salvo discussed the sale:
Q: The identities of the seven bidders include Peter Lim and Wanda Corp. Are you distancing yourself from other investors for Valencia?
Amadeo Salvo: I say the same that I said before: investors, come to Valencia. The more competition, the better. The president will go with the offer that is best for Valencia.
Q: Among the seven bids, are there any surprises?
Salvo: There are talks of an Arab group, of U.S. groups, but without confirming, one has to wait. I want to make a reflection: we have to respect the seven offers. They are groups that have come to answer our call and each one presented the best offer it could. One has to evaluate them, and above all, respect them. We are making calls for investors to come to La Liga and for this, we have to demonstrate that we are serious. The release of the names of the bidders lacks professionalism toward those who are bringing the process forward.
Q: How much time should one now expect?
Salvo: The period will be a maximum of three weeks and then we will determine which are deserving of passing to a higher level, which will be sent to the majority shareholder. We will go until April 20 or 21. The majority shareholder will meet 48 hours later and meet until April 23. After, we will go to a board of shareholders and this will be either May 22 or 23. It will have to be a Saturday so that more people can attend.
Q: Will the process be calm?
Salvo: Valencia is being sold, so there has to be sensibility with all of this. We hope it is a clean and neat process. One part is lender Bankia, which is defending its interests and the majority shareholder (VCF Foundation) is another, which wants the best for Valencia. ... What we can't allow is for situations where a bank announces it cannot invest in football and talks of refinancing. We cannot be attached to Bankia any longer. We have to clear the debt with Bankia in the process. This would be the logical solution for Valencia. Not because the president says so -- because common sense says so (AS, 4/2).
