Belgium: General Assembly of Cercle Brugge (2^nd division) validate buyout by AS Monaco

"AS Monaco (Ligue 1) and Cercle Brugge KSV (BEL, Proximus League) are pleased to announce the acquisition of the Belgian club by the Monegasque club as of Friday, 05/05/2017", indicated both clubs on that date. The General Assembly of the Cercle de Bruges voted unanimously in favour of the majority shareholding of the Monegasque club. "This buyout project is part of the sporting development through our policy of developing young talent," stated AS Monaco on 06/05/2017.

AS Monaco submitted its bid to acquire a majority stake of Cercle Brugge on 15/02/2017. The board of directors of the Belgian club accepted the bid on 28/02/2017. This buyout is made via "a capital increase under certain conditions in the fields of finance, administration, and sporting cooperation," said Cercle Brugge on 28/02/2017.

"Cercle, its number 12 and his colours (green and black) are part of the Belgian sporting heritage, of which includes Bruges as the most beautiful city, and the club must return to the first division, where its has been active for 78 seasons. We could have partnered with clubs from many…