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Lefevere doesn't mince his words: "On Monday it should be clear if the merger with Jumbo-Visma goes ahead, with Amazon as a fourth party it doesn't work"
CyclingSaturday, 30 September 2023 at 09:24
In his traditional column in the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, Patrick Lefevere has for the first time commented extensively on the impending merger between Soudal Quick-Step and Jumbo Visma. In it, he makes it clear that the addition of sponsor Amazon to Jumbo-Visma could be a game changer.
"With Soudal, Quick-Step and Visma, everyone can proportionally find their place. With Amazon as a fourth party, that doesn't work anymore. As far as I know, there was no talk of their arrival last week," said the 69-year-old Soudal Quick-Step team boss.
In his column, Lefevere provides many answers to previously unanswered questions. For example, he explains when there was first talk of a possible merger with the Jumbo-Visma people. "There was a meeting before the Tour between Zdenek Bakala (majority shareholder of Soudal Quick-Step, ed.) and Robert van der Wallen (member of the Supervisory Board of Jumbo-Visma, ed.). That was in the framework of a project in which several top teams want to join forces to position themselves more strongly together in the cycling economy. Things clicked well between Bakala and Van der Wallen, but in the meantime there was also dissatisfaction with our team, which was supposedly not working well enough."
That led to a further meeting between the two parties in Vienna on the penultimate day of the Tour. "This time also with Richard Plugge. We talked for an hour and then flew back to Paris. Then some time passed. I stopped by Quick-Step and Soudal. Richard went through Visma. Until at some point a letter of intent was signed to go together. The idea was to come up with a constellation where Bakala, Van der Wallen and Richard Plugge would split the shares. I would sell mine.
Many important questions remain unresolved. For example: how many people from Soudal Quick-Step will be able to join the new project? "That's an exercise we haven't done yet. What the structure of the merger team might look like has not yet been drawn. That's also legal avant-garde. There have been meetings with many lawyers and advisors. But I can guarantee you: my staff, I'm not going to go lightly on that. Obviously, it is also the intention that Remco Evenepoel will remain on board. I have asked the people at Jumbo-Visma to talk to him, which has happened in the meantime."
Lefevere himself is stepping back, taking a role on the Supervisory Board. As WielerFlits reported earlier, Richard Plugge is in pole position to become the new CEO. "If Plugge becomes CEO, it will be up to him to solve the pressing problems. It will no longer be up to me," West Fleming said of the matter. "Limiting myself to a role on the Supervisory Board is what I prefer. I will be 69 years old in January. Age comes into play and I can say I've had enough of it."
Another important question: doesn't the arrival of Amazon scupper plans? "I can't answer that. Apparently, on the Dutch side, things have gained momentum. But I have no idea in what capacity Amazon is going to come on board. The fact is that with three parties - Soudal, Quick-Step and Visma - everyone can proportionally find their place. With Amazon as a fourth party, that no longer works. As far as I know, there was no mention of their arrival last week. This could change the rules of the game."
So the change will have to be made quickly. "After the letter of intent, everything dragged on too long. But this can't drag on for three more days. Zdenek Bakala is flying to Europe. On Monday there should be much more clarity."
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