Philipp Grothe, the chief executive and co-founder of Kentaro, has rubbished claims that the Swiss division of the agency, Kentaro AG, has gone into liquidation. He said that the division had, on the contrary, just completed a €27m ($36m) recapitalisation.
Grothe told TV Sports Markets today: “The company has recapitalised and the outcome is a very positive one for us. We are now on a more solid financial footing. Kentaro AG has not ceased trading. Rumours that Kentaro AG has gone into liquidation are false and are based on a misunderstanding of complicated accountancy procedures regarding the equity position of a Swiss company.”
The Swiss company registry Moneyhouse, among other sources, has published information which purports to show that Kentaro AG went into liquidation on November 11.
Grothe said the information published was “incorrect and will be deleted soon, probably in the next 24 hours.”
Grothe also pointed out that the Swiss division was just one of 15 entities worldwide which make up Kentaro.
Speculation about the viability of the company intensified following Uefa’s decision to centralise the media rights to the World Cup and European Championship qualification matches of European football federations, which accounted for a large chunk of the company’s business.
The agency has since diversified, moving more heavily into player representation, football club marketing and the organisation and distribution of commercial rights to friendly matches. Its last qualification rights deals, before centralisation kicks in, will be for 2014 World Cup play-off matches, including the eagerly-awaited Sweden v Portugal fixture on November 19.
Kentaro was formed in 2003 by Grothe and Philippe Huber, former heads of football at the IMG agency.