Dietmar Hopp relinquishes majority of voting rights at Hoffenheim

The previous majority shareholder cited the criticism of the Federal Cartel Office regarding the exceptional status of the 50+1 rule and various hostilities against him as reasons for not using the exemption that came into effect on July 1, 2015.

As the club of ÖFB team player Christoph Baumgartner announced on Wednesday, Hopp’s majority will be transferred from Spielbetriebs GmbH back to the parent club without compensation. A capital outflow is not associated with the step, it said in the club’s announcement.

The club is thus returning to the 50+1 rule. Exceptions in the league remain VfL Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen. In principle, the regulation states that the decision-making majority must always remain with the parent club when investors enter the club. This is to prevent clubs – such as in England – from being completely sold.

The Bundeskartellamt classified the 50+1 rule in 2021 as harmless in terms of sports policy, but criticized the three exceptions for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim with majority owner Hopp and the company-controlled clubs Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg. All three clubs are exempt from the 50+1 rule because they have been significantly supported by a corporation or investor for more than 20 years. The clarification process is still ongoing.