MUMBAI: I-League heavyweights Mohun Bagan are close to signing a sponsorship deal with a top global steel company which is likely to be valued at Rs400 million, Moneycontrol reports.
The Kolkata-based club is likely to make an official statement on the same and details of the agreement on July 29, which is known as the Mohun Bagan day in Indian football.
“We are looking at an amount of Rs 400 million from the annual sponsorship deal and are willing to give them 60 per cent of our stake,” Mohun Bagan secretary Anjan Mitra told Moneycontrol.
In addition to the deal, the club is keen on incorporating transfer fees from the next fiscal to make it another revenue stream.
Speculation remains on the identity of the sponsors as JSW Group has ruled out the possibility, while Tata Steel and ArcelorMittal are major shareholders in Indian Super League’s Jamshedpur FC and England’s Queens Park Rangers (QPR) respectively.
Pressure has mounted on Mohun Bagan after rivals East Bengal found a top sponsor in Bengaluru-based Quess Corp Ltd recently. The business services provider has become title partner and 70% controlling stakeholder in the historic club for a princely sum of Rs100 million.
Incidentally, both the teams were sponsored by the United Breweries (UB) group since 1998. However, due to Vijay Mallya’s financial woes, Bagan pulled out of the deal in 2015.
As a result, the club has struggled to find sponsors, depending on financial support from club president Swapan Sadhan Bose, who is better known as Tutu Bose in footballing circles through his firm, Ripley. He donated Rs 10 million in May to aid in reducing the club’s debts.
