Image: GEPA pictures
Vienna. There is no rest at the distribution circuit. Austria is apparently still in serious financial difficulties. As the favorites announced on Thursday evening, they could not submit the annual financial statements required by the Bundesliga until Wednesday, which is relevant for the upcoming licensing. Board member Gerhard Krisch justified this with the fact that the search for investors has not yet been completed.
Krisch promised full commitment to the acquisition of new donors. “We will continue to work at full speed on the entry of an investor in order to be able to submit the necessary documents promptly and to also achieve the economic stability that is the prerequisite for a successful, sporting future.” However, the final sentence in the Austria announcement also read: “It remains to be seen how the Bundesliga assesses the current situation.”
The league only told the APA that the matter would be dealt with by Senate 5 with immediate effect. The consequences of missing the deadline for Austria are still completely open. The only thing that is certain is that the current season is not affected.
The violet's economic problems now have a long history. In November 2020, the league's annual report revealed that Austria had accumulated liabilities of 78 million euros. In the 2019/20 season alone, the “Veilchen” wrote a loss of 18.8 million euros. The lifestyle group Insignia was presented as a savior last March, but the “strategic partner” obviously did not keep its promises. The license was only obtained at the second attempt thanks to financial resources from the “Friends of Austria”.
The worries of the “violets” are not so. An investor is urgently needed, which is why Krisch founded a restructuring advisory board with experts from different areas a long time ago. “This has developed a structured process for evaluating a potential investor and has produced two very interested investors who want to get involved within the scope of the licensing options,” explained the board of directors.
Regarding the missing annual financial statements, Krisch said: “Only due to the fact that the legally binding transaction documents were not yet available, the auditor was unable to complete the audit on June 30, 2021 by the time of submission. However, the auditor confirmed that the other information and presentations in the annual financial statements are correct and comprehensible, so that in the foreseeable future or after the investor's entry has been implemented, it can also be assumed that the audit of the consolidated financial statements and thus the auditor's certificate will be issued. “
