The investment fund responsible for PSG is seeking expansion opportunities through the acquisition of Braga shares and through ongoing negotiations with Santos.
In recent months, Santos has held talks with Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), an investment fund that owns PSG, the French club. These people are part of the group’s efforts to seek opportunities for global expansion.
QSI expands its football influence through investment in Braga
Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), led by Nasser Al-Khelaifi, has taken an important step towards strengthening its presence in football and expanding its brand by investing in Braga, a Portuguese club. Acquiring 21.67% of the shares for 90 million euros, QSI demonstrates a new approach to its investments, differentiating itself from the total control exercised over PSG. In the case of Braga, QSI has a minority stake and acts as an investor, seeking to expand its influence on the football scene.
QSI, in turn, aims to contribute to Braga’s brand. In this way, it is natural that the value of your shareholding increases. In an interview shortly after the deal with the Portuguese club, Nasser Al-Khelaifi explained the deal with enthusiasm:
Braga is an exemplary institution, with a history, enormous hope for excellence on and off the field, as well as an investor and partner. We look forward to innovating, growing and developing the club in all areas – men’s and women’s teams, commercial and brand aspects, as well as all the communities and businesses it supports. Braga is following its planned path.
Through this strategic partnership, QSI seeks to embrace Braga’s brand, promoting significant growth for both the club and itself.
Santos sees the partnership established with Braga as a model to be followed in the search for an agreement with QSI. To materialize this partnership, the club, however, would need to transform itself into a Sociedade Anônima do Futebol (SAF), maintaining control and most of the shares. This would be a way to enable collaboration with QSI, aligning the interests of the parties involved.
In Brazil, QSI sees a promising opportunity to expand its business. However, with the recent acquisitions of the shareholding control of SAFs in Bahia by Grupo City and Vasco, PSG’s owner fund seeks to position itself as a partner in the valuation of assets, aiming to reap benefits in the future. However, in this sense, Santos is committed to persuading QSI to continue in the championship and consider an investment in Brazilian football.