The case in summary: Vipers Kristiansand has rejected a potential investment from a player in the Middle East due to ethical issues. The club needs NOK 25 million by Friday to avoid bankruptcy, according to the club itself. Six different players have expressed an interest in investing in the club, but two of them, including the one from the Middle East, are now out of the question. The club now has four players left who are interested in investing, two Norwegian and two European. Even if they do not reach the target of 25 million, the club will try to continue operations, it was revealed at a sponsor’s meeting on Thursday, according to what news is told. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – We have closed a door ourselves. An operator from the Middle East made contact yesterday. I wanted to make an honorable attempt to see if there was a basis for moving on, says chairman of Vipers, Peter Gitmark to news. The handball giant Vipers Kristiansand is desperately looking for money. On Tuesday, the bombshell hit that shook the whole of Handball-Norway: the Vipers board says they must have NOK 25 million by Friday at 3 p.m. Otherwise, one of Europe’s best teams in recent years is bankrupt. Too many questions On Wednesday evening, it became known that six different actors had contacted the chairman of the board. These were interested in contributing money to the club. On Thursday, he confirms that two of them are out of date. One of them is from the Middle East. – There were too many problems related to ethical issues. Where does the money come from? What kind of view of women do they bring with them? Why do they want to make such an investment, he says. The club has also turned down a Norwegian player who they thought was not serious enough to proceed. Gitmark says the club is now left with four players who are still interested in investing in the club. There are two mediated European individuals, and one Norwegian grouping and one individual who is also Norwegian. – We are on our way, but we are not the goal until we have signed agreements. We have to see tomorrow where we stand, he says. – The level of detail is starting to become more what you can expect with a negotiation. I hope during the night or tomorrow that we enter into real negotiations, he says. Do you think Vipers Kristiansand will survive? Can continue even if they do not reach 25 million. On Thursday, the club held a meeting with its sponsors. According to what news is told, it was said by the club management that they will do everything they can to save the club. This means that they are open for further operations, even if they should not reach NOK 25 million. It can involve severe cuts and downsizing. Gitmark explains the reason why the board asked for 25 million as follows: – The club has been operating beyond capacity for several years. There have been far too high expenses in relation to income. A few years ago, the club had 10 million on its books. Now the club has a negative equity of 5.5 million. In addition, we have 9 million in debt. – 25 million takes care of the debt and we manage to build on towards next season. We shall never get into a situation again, where we have to ask for money, if we survive, he says. Published 17.10.2024, at 19.23 Updated 17.10.2024, at 19.58
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– Too many questions – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
