Serie B: No buyers for Bari at second auction, third set for 20/05/2014

No offers were made on the sports company AS Bari (Serie B, second Italian division) at the second auction of the club on 12/05/2014. The initial bid was set at €3.5m.

At the first auction, with the initial bid of €4.3m, only Gianluca Paparesta, the manager of Bari from 08/10/2013 to 20/02/2014, made an offer along with Indian investors, on 18/04/2014. This application was not accepted due to missing documents and an insufficient bid (of €3m instead of the €4.3m required).

Gianluca Paparesta did not make an offer at the second auction, but is finding new investors for the third scheduled for 20/05/2014. The initial bid will be set at €2m. The future buyer will also cover the club's debt, which is estimated at €2.9m.

• After 40 matchdays (out of 42) in Series B, Bari are 9^th (and a game behind).
• The "AS Bari" brand 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 procedure called "lease-back" from a leasing company.
• In their financial evaluation report submitted to the Tribunal of Bari…