Dunfermline Athletic: German group invest in fan-owned Championship club
- Published
Pars United came to the rescue of Dunfermline after the club had gone into administration
Investment from Germany will allow Dunfermline Athletic to develop a youth academy and new training facilities, says chairman Ross McArthur.
Hamburg-based DAFC Fussball GmbH have taken on 30% of the club's enlarged share capital, with an option to acquire a further 45.1%.
Dunfermline has been run by fans group Pars United since 2013.
They "warmly welcome" the move and look forward to becoming an "active and supportive minority shareholder".
And McArthur insists the Championship club's "community ethos will not be diluted" by the deal.
Three members of the investment group are joining the board with immediate effect and they will hold an additional option to purchase the company which owns East End Park by May 2024.
"We believe that this change to our ownership structure will be an enormous step forward in the achievement of our goals," said McArthur.
"The investors have a deep and sound knowledge of football and of commercial marketing, which means they bring very much more than fresh investment capital.
"Our expectation is that this cash investment will give Dunfermline Athletic the competitive advantage we have long sought and will allow us to take steps to achieve our long-term ambitions."
DAFC Fussball GmbH's Damir Keretic said the group had spent more than two years searching for a club in Europe and had originally intended to acquire a 75.1% stake in March.
"We felt it better to delay our full investment until we could avoid being absentee owners," he explained. "Nevertheless, we were very keen to make a tangible commitment to completing the deal and wanted to do something in the interim which would support the club financially."