- The shareholders of FCL Holding AG exercise the right to purchase Bernhard Alpstaeg’s shares.
- The shareholders announced this on Tuesday afternoon. They cite “repeated serious breaches of duty” as the reason.
- Alpstaeg countered a few hours later and spoke of an “abstruse and legally baseless approach”.
The dispute between FC Luzern and its controversial major shareholder Bernhard Alpstaeg is coming to a head. The FCL shareholders announced on Tuesday that Alpstaeg would be excluded from the shareholder binding agreement (AVB).
The exclusion triggers a purchase right to purchase the shares, as stated in the announcement from FCL Holding AG on Tuesday afternoon. The share package is to be acquired, held jointly and later sold on to personalities from central Switzerland.
Alpstaeg’s whereabouts “no longer reasonable”
The decisive factor for the decision was Alpstaeg’s “serious breaches of duty” towards FCL Holding AG, as the statement continued. He is “no longer sustainable” as a shareholder and his remaining as a shareholder is “no longer reasonable” for the other shareholders.
The Board of Directors of FCL Holding showed understanding for the shareholders’ decision and welcomed the intention to make these shares available to the widest possible audience if shares were sold. “From the Board of Directors’ point of view, only a broadly supported FC Lucerne is sustainable and guarantees the best possible anchoring and identification throughout central Switzerland,” the committee was quoted as saying.
Alpstaeg reacts: “Abstruse argumentation”
A few hours after the FCL shareholders’ announcement was published, Alpstaeg spoke out with his own letter. Through his PR consultant Sascha Wigdorovits, he announced that FCL Holding AG was basing their plan on “a completely absurd argument” and that this was “legally baseless”.
The other FCL shareholders would not have the right to purchase Alpstaeg’s shares and the major shareholder would also have no intention of selling them.