My majority shares saved Hearts — Togbe Afede

The majority shareholder of Accra Hearts of Oak, Togbe Afede XIV, has explained that he bought shares in Hearts to prevent the club from incurring more debts as a result of under-subscription of shares by Hearts fans.

Togbe Afede told a gathering of Hearts Executive Group members last Monday at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) that when Hearts floated shares in 2011 there was a struggle to meet the minimum threshold required for a successful floatation, so his company, Strategic African Securities (SAS) Group, invested the resources that qualified Hearts for listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange.

The Hearts Executive Board Chairman disclosed that in 2011 the Board of Directors decided unanimously that share floatation was the best way to solve the funding problems at the club though the idea of floatation or ownership of a football club was then alien to most Ghanaians who questioned how they could become owners of Hearts.

He said: “The lack of interest meant the closing date for floatation was postponed several times to no avail.

“In order that floatation was not a failure, my company, SAS, came in and invested the resources that qualified Hearts for potential listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange through the meeting of the minimum threshold agreed in consultation with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), making floatation a success.  

“Without that action, Hearts would have returned monies to investors and been shortchanged after spending money on legal fees, printing material and promotion of the share floatation process,” Togbe Afede pointed out.

The accomplished businessman acquired a majority stake in Hearts after the club realised GH¢2.5 million out of the projected GH¢ 10 million from the share floatation exercise.