Italy: AS Bari club (Serie B) to be auctioned on 18/04/2014, starting price set at €4.3m

The auction of AS Bari (Serie B, Italian second division) will be held on 18/04/2014, announced Marcello Danisi on 31/03/2014. He is one of two administrators appointed by the Court of Bari after the bankruptcy of the club on 10/03/2014.

After an appraisal of the club's assets, the starting price was set at €4.3m for the auction (€2.54m for six players belonging to AS Bari, €1.16m for four players co-owned with other Italian clubs, €21,150 of tangible and intangible assets, €400,000 for the training centre of the club, €30,000 for branded clothing, €146,000 for the trademark "AS Bari").

The future buyer will also have to cover the club's debt estimated at €2.9m.

• The trademark "AS Bari" was valued at €21.5m by the club owners on 31/03/2010. At that time, the Matarrese family, owners of the club since 1977, sold the brand in a "lease-back" procedure to a credit-bail company.
• In their financial evaluation report submitted to the Tribunal of Bari, investigators Luca Domenico and Tria Veneziani spoke of "thinly disguised... made up" accounting.  
  • "By doing this, the assignor…