Southampton owner Solak steps up £170m fight with London fund
Billionaire Southampton FC owner Dragan Solak has escalated a legal battle with London-based private equity fund BC Partners, which he says owes him and his business partners £170m.
Solak has asked Dutch authorities to investigate what he calls a “serious governance crisis” at United Group, the telecoms and media business he founded but which is now majority owned by BC Partners.
He and CEO Victoriya Boklag were abruptly sacked last week in what he believes was an act of revenge for suing BC Partners-owned holding company Summer Parent in the High Court over non-payment of €200m (£171m) in bonuses he says were due to him and the management team from the €1.5bn sale of subsidiaries in his native Serbia.
“BC Partners’s unilateral decision to impose new leadership, suddenly and without notice to staff or shareholders, on a highly complex business operating across multiple jurisdictions is in breach of Dutch law and puts United Group’s future and value in jeopardy,” he said.
“We have reasonable doubts whether the newly appointed management will be able to run United Group for the benefit of all stakeholders and produce results similar to ours.
“We will be monitoring the performance of the new management team very closely and will fight for our rights and the preservation of the value of our equity.”
Solak: BC Partners ‘risking it all’
Solak has been the majority owner of Southampton since January 2022, through his multi-club vehicle Sport Republic, which also owns Goztepe in Turkey and Valenciennes in France.
He and the rest of the former management still own a large minority stake in United Group, which is headquartered in the Netherlands and last year reported revenue of €2.8bn.
“The behavior of BC Partners signals a complete disregard for the achievements and rights of the management team that owns more than 42 per cent of the business,” Solak added.
“Their actions in regards to United Group demonstrate to financial markets, the investment community and business founders around the world that BC Partners is a company willing to use any means possible to oust a founder partner to risk it all for even higher profits.”
BC Partners has not yet filed a defence to Solak’s High Court claim for unpaid bonuses, which was lodged in April. BC Partners was approached for comment.
Last week the 60-year-old reiterated his commitment to Southampton following their relegation from the Premier League at the end of last season.