Helsinki Seagulls are partly owned by Lithuania – the new owners are financing the club’s losses and want 10,000 spectators to watch basketball games

Helsinki Seagulls basketball club targets large arenas and European leagues in a business deal, with one of the Lithuanian investment firms Basketball Holdings Become an owner of the company.

The private placement will initially give Basketball Holdings Company (BHC) a 10% ownership stake, but BHC is expected to grow into one of the club’s major owners in the future.

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At the same time, BHC will take over Seagull’s funding needs, which will amount to millions in the coming years.

Deslax, the company behind the Seagulls, which played in the Korisliiga final last spring, lost 475,000 euros last year on a turnover of 657,000 euros.

“Our investment is divided into two phases. The first is that the club needs to be at the top of the local championship level. In the second phase, we will significantly increase the capital investment so that the club has enough infrastructure to go to the international level. This means a completely different budget”, said the main owner of BHC Provided by Quadro Capital Partners Founder, Lithuanian Gidris Pukas.

Signed a cooperation agreement and served as the main owner of Seagull for many years Jenny Kurvik and Sinica Kurvik Gradually give up most of your holdings.

Seagulls board chairman Sinikka Kulvik said the current ownership could not meet the club’s future financial needs.

“The budget for a Euroleague team starts at around 7 million euros. From now on, BHC will take full financial responsibility and our role will be reduced,” said Kulvik.

The media rights of millions of people are also a driving force

At an event at Urhea Hall in Helsinki on Thursday, BCH’s international representatives justified the investment in the Seagulls not only because of the rise of Finnish basketball, but also because the television rights for Europe’s top basketball tournament are being renegotiated.

BCH representatives with news background Mindaugas Rennison According to this, it involves a large and growing amount of money.

According to Basketnews, Euroleague media rights were worth $42.5 million last year, but according to Rainys, NBA media rights are worth billions of dollars. Rainys justified its investment in the Seagulls in part by supporting the media rights of the investment.

BHC owns the Lithuanian BC Wolves Twinsbet basketball team. The club recently signed a three-year sponsorship contract with a bookmaker worth €7.5 million. Gemini Betaine and.

“We can finance the purchase of Helsinki Hall”

However, BCH’s plans face an obstacle that the Helsinki Seagulls are all too familiar with: the lack of a hall of sufficient size.

“In the next phase of the sale, the conditions for the future halls will also be clarified, in particular the Helsinki Hall,” the Seagulls press release stated.

In the past, the Seagulls had participated in the Helsinki Garden project, hoping to transform the old ice rink into a basketball court that could accommodate 2,000-3,000 spectators. However, the project has been in the works for a long time, and there is still uncertainty as to whether it can be realized.

However, BCH representatives pointed out at the press conference that such a venue is not enough to host the European League, which requires a hall that can accommodate 10,000 spectators.

According to Janne Kulvik, the Seagulls are still interested in the Helsinki Gardens, where Korisliiga matches could be played at the old ice rink and Euroleague games could be played in the HIFK’s Garden Hall. However, the assumed time span of 5-6 years is not optimal.

BHC founder Pukas also said so.

“We are looking for faster options. Helsinki Hall is one such option. We can invest in it. We can rent it. We can finance the purchase. The problem is that we don’t know who to talk to,” he said, laughing.

“Nevertheless, Helsinki needs such an arena. If the city needs our help, we will be happy to offer our expertise, such as legal assistance. We will be a valuable asset to the arena. We reserve it for at least 50-60 days a year, which means basketball can occupy around 15-20% of them.”

When asked what the investment period for BCH’s “million-dollar investment” is, Pucas responded as follows.

“Never. We are not capital investors. We don’t need to buy first and then sell.”

He also stressed that basketball is a good sport for Finns, and the same is true in Lithuania.

“For example, it’s not worth playing polo because of the conditions. Basketball is also evolving. Just like in Roman times, people want bread and circus performances. Basketball players are modern-day gladiators.”