Iran values two top football clubs at $224mln combined

PressTV – TEHRAN, The Iranian government has announced valuations for two top football clubs that are planned to go public this year.

Head of Iran’s privatization authority said on Saturday that Persepolis and Esteghlal football clubs had been designated by government experts to have a combined value of 60 trillion rials (nearly $224 million).

Hossein Ghorbanzadeh said that the two Tehran-based clubs will start going public soon with sales of shares in a local stock market known as Farabourse.

Esteghlal and Persepolis have been under government control both before and after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Matches involving the teams are held in packed stadiums across the country as estimates suggest they each enjoy a fan base of tens of millions of people.

The divestments are in line with a general privatization program in Iran. They are also meant to satisfy criteria and conditions set by the Asian Football Confederation.

Experts believe that rivalry between the two clubs and their fans will help the divestments to succeed. Others have shed doubt on the accuracy of the valuations, saying the listings will not necessarily be an easy sell.   

Ghorbanzadeh’s statement on Twitter said that a government body that decides on divestment of state firms had endorsed the valuations which estimated that the listing of Persepolis will generate 32 trillion rials.

He later told the Tasnim news agency that the valuations had considered all the assets held by the two clubs, including their brands.

However, the official suggested that the government’s controlling shares in the two clubs will be listed in the local stock market next summer, meaning that the government will still have a final say on who runs the clubs at least for the next nine months.