Vasco members back Lamacchia takeover with R$3bn funding plan
Vasco da Gama members have approved the proposed sale of 90% of the club’s football company to Marcos Lamacchia’s Almirante Participações, backing a funding programme that could exceed R$3bn while leaving completion subject to further approvals.
Vasco da Gama members have approved Almirante Participações’ proposed acquisition of 90% of their football company, advancing a takeover backed by investment, cash-flow support and financial guarantees.The October 23 vote produced 4,675 votes in favour, 437 against and 48 abstentions, following earlier approval by the club’s deliberative council of the transaction and necessary constitutional changes.Marcos Lamacchia, the businessman behind Almirante, said: “I wanted to thank you for the trust you place in us, and the Vasco supporters for the trust they place in us.“We promise a great deal of hard work. We entered this because we recognise Vasco’s greatness. You can be certain that we will give our best.”The association will retain 10% of the Sociedade Anônima do Futebol, or SAF, alongside special rights, with the proposed transfer still requiring judicial, corporate and regulatory steps before completion.Financial commitments could exceed R$3bn, covering football investment, infrastructure, projected cash deficits and existing obligations rather than representing a single purchase payment.The programme includes R$500m for the football department over five years and a further R$150m for training centres and youth development.Another R$1.5bn is earmarked to cover projected cash shortfalls during the first five years, alongside resources for financial obligations and commitments connected with the club’s judicial restructuring.That allocation makes support for the operating business a substantial component of the proposal, separate from spending intended to improve facilities or strengthen football operations.The agreement includes a R$324m guarantee, a personal guarantee from Lamacchia and additional financial protection mechanisms.It also restricts the investor’s ability to sell shares and prohibits dividend distributions by the SAF for ten years, retaining funds within the football business during that period.São Januário will remain owned by the sporting association rather than transferring with the controlling stake in the football company.The stadium will be the professional team’s priority home until 2030, with an annual R$3m payment for its use.The separation preserves stadium ownership within the association while establishing terms under which the investor-controlled company can operate there.Further scrutiny will include assessments by Brazil’s football financial sustainability agency Anresf and competition authority Cade.A potential conflict-of-interest question concerns Lamacchia’s family connections to Palmeiras president Leila Pereira, his stepmother, and his father José Roberto Lamacchia, the businessman associated with Crefisa.Those relationships require examination within the approval process but do not themselves establish a regulatory breach.The members’ vote therefore provides an essential internal authorisation rather than completing the sale, with the transfer of the 90% holding dependent on the remaining legal and regulatory requirements.