Santos postpones vote paving way for majority sale
Santos has postponed a members’ vote on rule changes that would allow investors to acquire up to 80% of its professional football business, delaying a key step in negotiations with SDC Sports.
Santos has postponed an extraordinary general meeting that would have considered changes to its statutes allowing the sale of a controlling stake in a future football company.The meeting had been scheduled for November 8 and its agenda included reducing the minimum stake retained by the membership association from 51% to 20%, opening the way for US-based SDC Sports or another investor to acquire the remaining 80%.The club’s deliberative council said the postponement was intended to protect equal treatment of candidates in December’s presidential election.“The wording of the new statutes provides that the deadline for registering candidate lists would be November 12,” the council said.“Given this situation, the board decided to maintain the deadline of November 22, ensuring equal conditions for all candidates and avoiding any harm to their legitimate electoral aspirations.”The council said its decision had been taken “in a spirit of transparency and in agreement with the current management and the prospective candidates for the club presidency”.Approval of the proposed statutes would have left candidates with insufficient time to register their lists and submit the required documentation before the earlier deadline, according to the council. A replacement date for the general meeting has not been announced.The postponement also holds up a necessary step in Santos’s discussions with SDC Sports over the creation of a Sociedade Anônima do Futebol, or SAF, the corporate structure used by Brazilian clubs to attract external investment.The parties have a non-binding proposal under discussion. Preliminary terms reportedly envisage R$1 billion for football investment and a further R$1 billion towards debt payments in exchange for 80% of the future company.Those figures represent proposed investment commitments rather than a confirmed purchase price. A final offer remains dependent on the statutory changes and agreement on definitive terms.Financial, legal and operational due diligence was reportedly completed by August. However, the club’s existing requirement to retain majority ownership prevents a transaction on the controlling-stake basis currently being discussed.December’s election will determine Santos’s leadership for the 2027–29 term and could influence the direction of the negotiations. President Marcelo Teixeira is expected to seek re-election, with José Renato Quaresma, Maurício Maruca, Ivan Luduvice and Vladimir Mattos among the prospective opposition candidates.The SAF proposal has divided opinion within the club. Supporters of the approach see outside investment as a means of addressing financial difficulties, while opponents have called for greater caution and transparency over the terms and the consequences of transferring control.