He should have bought Zbrojovka, now he’s staring: From a comedy to a tragedy. A loss for Comet as well

The armory has a new owner. Only different than what was expected at the beginning of April. Investor Pavel Svoreň was vehemently interested in the Brno football club. He was supposed to officially take over the majority of the shares by the end of this month. Which surprisingly didn’t happen. He was overtaken by Libor Zábranský, the head of hockey Kometa. “A comedy is turned into a tragedy,” Svoreň responded on the X social network.

“A number of people turn to me for an opinion. Please give me and my colleagues at least a short time,” Pavel Svoreň wrote on the social network shortly after the announcement that Libor Zábranský became the new owner of Zbrojovka. He was obviously taken aback.

After all, Svoreň has been among the hottest candidates for the purchase of the Brno football club in recent months. Already in mid-March, it seemed that he and Václav Bartoňek, now the former owner of Zbrojovka, had agreed on the transfer of the majority share of the club.

“After turbulent days, we are jointly announcing a significant shift in the agreement and the process of taking over the club itself. The interested parties have agreed on all the parameters of the modified trade agreement, which will be finally settled on 4/26/2024,” read the statement signed by Bartoněk, Svoreň and Čeněk Absolon on behalf of the Brno Regional Chamber of Commerce.

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But just one day before the set date, there was a twist. Zábranský took over 80% of the club’s shares. “It’s very good news,” Zbrojovka legend Karel Jarůšek responded to Sport.

Zábranský is a representative of the city of Brno and at the same time the owner of the hockey team Kometa. In an official statement, he said the goal is to create synergy between the clubs and fulfill potential. However, Svoren perceives it differently. “For now, I will limit myself to stating that the biggest losers will be both sports clubs. Even so: Up Brno!” added the executive director of the Portiva investment group.

One thing is certain, Svoreň stayed out of the game. “And that’s why, after a meeting in Brno more than a year ago, I found out that it has no meaning,” said Ondřej Kania, the current owner of Liberec, who was also interested in Zbrojovka in the past, on the X network.

What is the future of the Brno club?