A Lithuanian group becomes the main shareholder of Joventut Badalona

BadalonaChange of ownership at Joventut Badalona. The Lithuanian businessman Paulius Motiejunas, through the Confluence Valley group, has reached an agreement to become the majority shareholder of the green-and-black club. Motiejunas is also a shareholder of Zalgiris Kaunas and directed the EuroLeague as CEO from June 2023 until January 2026. His experience in basketball and the fact that he comes from a country where this sport is very popular have been key in the negotiations, which, as journalist Xavi Ballesteros had anticipated, had accelerated in recent days.

In a statement, the Catalan company Scranton Enterprises, an investment vehicle for the Grifols family, has confirmed the agreement with Confluence Valley, the conglomerate created by Motiejunas together with the company Tesonet. Scranton had entered Joventut's capital in 2018 and has been increasing its stake to around 86%, following the capital increase formalized at the end of 2024. La Penya wanted to thank Scranton Enterprises for the work done over these years, as "when the situation was most uncertain and the future of the club was at stake, it decided to bet on the continuity of an institution that is much more than a basketball team. Its contribution has allowed generations of fans to continue enjoying La Penya and the club to look towards the future with ambition and confidence".

Asisa Joventut, which has managed to involve Ricky Rubio in the reconstruction of the project, is experiencing a sweet social and sporting moment. A few weeks ago, the green-and-black team took the Supercopa Endesa title. "We have gone through hard years and being able to celebrate a title at home with our fans is not the end of the road, but it is the reward for the work of many people," recalled Juanan Morales, president of Joventut Badalona. The club incorporated Ferran Laviña as CEO of the entity last March.

The Palau Olímpic, source of income

The commercial exploitation of the Palau Olímpic is one of the points with the most room for growth. The objective is to transfer to Badalona the lessons learned at the Zalgirio Arena, one of the European venues with the highest economic performance. Confluence Valley, a company for the management of sports facilities, stadiums, and events, is born from the merger of Tesonet and Zalgiris Group. The Lithuanians will absorb a good part of the Badalona club's debt.

The Euroleague replaced Motiejunas with Chus Bueno at the head of its project last January with the goal of facilitating talks with the NBA, with whom the Catalan has a direct line. The owner clubs of the Euroleague rejected a few days ago the first offer from the NBA to jointly organize a new competition in Europe, although reaching an agreement in the future is not ruled out. Furthermore, they agreed to continue the process to expand the number of franchises and the expansion of the tournament from the current 13 members to 24.