Friday, 27th June, 2014
Borussia Dortmund's main sponsor Evonik has become a shareholder and strategic partner with the Bundesliga outfit, in what has been branded a "mega deal".
The Ruhr company, whose expertise lies in speciality chemicals, has been Dortmund's shirt sponsor since 2006, a deal which has been extended until June 2025. Evonik now also holds 9% of the club's shares and will be Dortmund's first strategic partner.
Although many believe that the move could considerably strengthen the Ruhr giants and allow them to compete with Bayern Munich, the club's chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke was keen to quell any such talk, stressing that the investment will be used to increase Dortmund's growth and yearly turnover, before new players will be brought in.
"Our philosophy will not change. We are not issuing a warning to Bayern Munich", the 55-year-old said in a press conference.
"We can then go and increase our player budget on the basis of that growth."
Watzke added that discussions regarding possible investment were also held with other companies.
"We are having exploratory talks with interested companies." he explained.
Dortmund finished the 2013/14 Bundesliga season in second place, trailing 19 points behind Bayern Munich, and reached the Champions League quarter-finals where they lost to Real Madrid 3-2 on aggregate.
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