In their transfer business, the group—which was supported by Dragan Šolak and formed by Rasmus Ankersen and Henrik Kraft—has trusted youth. Players poured into here during their first summer transfer window. They were unable to remain in the Premier League in spite of that.
Following their takeover of the team, Kraft addressed the media and detailed their ownership strategy for the Saints.
“We will be an engaged and active owner, but we will not be instigating any revolutions,” he said.
The fact that Southampton is already a well-managed team with a well-defined plan is what drew us in.
“Martin Semmens, the CEO of Southampton, will continue to oversee the club’s daily operations, and Sport Republic will collaborate closely with him and his group to support the club’s expansion.
Even though Southampton is Sport Republic’s first acquisition, we anticipate making other investments in the upcoming years. Our goal is to amass a portfolio of very influential investments in international football teams and other sports properties.
In addition, we’ll make investments in fledgling sports technology firms and use our portfolio to help them grow faster.
The purchase of Southampton is a fantastic starting point, and we are eager to go on this exciting adventure.
Who is Kraft, though? We have examined one of the guys leading Southampton in further detail.
Where has Henrik Kraft worked before?
He began his professional career as a strategy consultant at Braxton Associates. After that, Kraft spent seven years working for Apax Partners.
Kraft was the head of the Technology and Telecoms division in Europe and a partner at KKR for ten years. In terms of TDC, Versatel, Visma, and United Group investments, he was crucial.
Kraft is an active investor in the media, telecommunications, and technology sectors. Having invested in startups including Tonsser, Sportlight, Wave.tv, Oura Ring, Sava Health, and MastersApp, he has been in the business for twenty years.
In addition to his involvement with Southampton, Kraft is associated with several European football teams. Kraft is a board member of the Valenciennes Football Club in France and Göztepe Spor Kulübü in Turkey.
Where did Henrik Kraft study?
Kraft attended Oxford University. He pursued a master’s degree in management, economics, and engineering. In 1996, he earned a first-class diploma.
In addition to his degrees in Engineering, Economics, and Management, Kraft holds the Wine and Spirit Education Trust’s level 2, 4, and 4 Diplomas.
Henrik Kraft’s net worth
Over the past 20 years, Kraft seems to have made fairly prudent financial investments. When you combine this with the prominent positions he has had in the IT sector, Kraft has established a reliable career.
Kraft is reportedly valued at £2 billion. As a result, he is the richest of Sports Republic’s two co-founders.
How many more clubs does he want to buy?
As was previously indicated, Southampton is only one of the Sport Republic group’s clubs, and it appears they have no intention of slowing down.
In an interview with The Athletic, Kraft expressed his desire to expand their network going forward, which he said would be beneficial for the Saints.
“I used to say that having two clubs lowers the quality of your emotional life,” he stated.
“because it’s difficult to finish a weekend without dropping points. Yet, I adore it. Now is the time to expand and create a cultural and central intelligence database that might help several clubs.
“I put a lot of effort into creating these structures. We go beyond simply purchasing a portfolio of clubs and allowing them to operate independently. Our goal is to create an integrated model that accurately accounts for player paths and synergies. When such system is up and running, it may work to those teams’ great benefit.
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