Wikipedia

Dragan Šolak (businessman)

Dragan Šolak (born 1964) is a Serbian businessman and media mogul. He is the founder and majority owner of the United Group media house. Šolak founded United Group back in 2000. His net worth was estimated at €1.22 billion, and as of 2021 was understood to be the richest man in Serbia.[1]

Dragan Šolak
Born
Dragan Šolak

1964 (age 59–60)
Kragujevac, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia
NationalitySerbian Maltese
OccupationBusinessman
Known forUnited Group, Sport Republic

Early life and education

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Šolak was born in 1964 in Kragujevac. He later moved to Belgrade for university but left to focus on business opportunities. In 1990, Šolak started a production business, one of the first in Yugoslavia. Following the 1992 Bosnian war, Šolak spent a decade abroad working in intellectual property and copyright. In 2000, he started a local cable television network in his home town that later grew with international funding. In 2014, that network became United Group.[2][3]

Career

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United Group

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Initially starting as just a small cable operator in central Serbia, the company has since become one of the most dominant media companies in Southeast Europe, providing broadband, mobile and TV services in eight countries.[1] Solak served as chief executive for United Group for eight years. He became chairman in 2008, and he remains an advisor to the board as of 2022. He retains a 33% share in United Group.[4][5][6]

Sport Republic

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Šolak is the lead investor and chairman of investment firm Sport Republic.[7][8][9] In January 2022, Sport Republic became the owners of English club Southampton which bought 80% of the shares in the club from Chinese businessman Gao Jisheng for about £100m.[10][11] Following Southampton's relegation from the Premier League after Sport Republic's first full season in charge, Šolak admitted that the club's owners were too distant to have a full understanding of what was happening and pledged that they would be more involved in future.[12] In September 2022, Šolak invested £48 million into the firm and in 2023, he contributed an additional £15 million. The money was intended for general operations and also to highlight Šolak's commitment to the club.[13]

The investment firm also acquired a 70% controlling stake in Turkish club Göztepe in August 2022 and became majority shareholders of French club Valenciennes in July 2023.[14][15]

N1 expose pre-election political maneuvering

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On 13 May 2023, the Slovenian information portal N1info, owned by Šolak, reported extensive and irregular investigations conducted by the Slovenian Office for Money Laundering Prevention in December 2021. The investigations occurred amidst a politically charged atmosphere in Slovenia as the elections approached. Evidence obtained suggested that the head of the office, Damjan Žugelj, appointed by the SDS party, facing time constraints, received an anonymous tip enabling him to initiate the investigation, presumably in the context of a pre-election agreement between Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and former Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša to gather potentially damaging information on their opponents through the respective anti-money laundering offices.[16][17] Janša has denied the allegations of an agreement with Vučić, while Žugelj has characterised the N1info portal's publications as political revenge.[18]

On 13 October 2023 National Bureau of Investigation arrested Damjan Žugelj, former director of the Office for Money Laundering Prevention, and his closest associates on suspicion of abuse of office. NBI said that they are being prosecuted for unlawfully looking into 224 bank accounts, allegedly also including Dragan Šolak.[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b Tanner, Jack (5 January 2022). "Who is Dragan Solak? Details on the investor behind Saints' new owners". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  2. ^ Walker, Shaun (27 January 2022). "Dragan's den: meeting Southampton's new billionaire owner". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Southampton takeover: Dragan Solak-backed company buys Premier League club". BBC Sport. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  4. ^ Walker, Shaun (27 January 2022). "Dragan's den: meeting Southampton's new billionaire owner". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Southampton takeover: Dragan Solak-backed company buys Premier League club". BBC Sport. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  6. ^ Wallace, Sam (4 January 2022). "Southampton's £100m takeover by Serbian investment group completed". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  7. ^ "About Us". Sport Republic. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  8. ^ Hannifin-Donaldson, Simmey (11 September 2023). "Southampton's majority owner Sport Republic: Net Worth, Business Interests, Saints plans and more". Football League World. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Sport Republic acquires ownership of club". Southampton FC. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  10. ^ Walker, Shaun (27 January 2022). "Dragan's den: meeting Southampton's new billionaire owner". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Southampton takeover: Dragan Solak-backed company buys Premier League club". BBC Sport. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  12. ^ Rampling, Ali (31 May 2023). "Southampton owners admit they were not involved enough during club's relegation". The Athletic. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  13. ^ Slater, Matt; Tanswell, Jacob (14 April 2023). "Southampton owner injects further investment into club". The Athletic. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Southampton owners acquire 70 per cent stake in Turkish club Goztepe S.K". The Athletic. 19 August 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  15. ^ de Souza, Bradley (25 July 2023). "Football: Valenciennes est racheté par le fonds d'investissement Sport Republic". France Bleu (in French). Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  16. ^ Šeruga, Katja (13 May 2023). "Brskanje po bančnih računih, kakršnega ne pomnimo: od šefa N1 do šefa Pop TV" [Bank Account Digging Like no Other: From the Boss of N1 to the Boss of Pop TV]. N1info (in Slovenian).
  17. ^ "Odziv Dragana Šolaka po razkritju dokazov o verjetni zlorabi in zavrženi ovadbi" [Dragan Šolak's Reaction After the Disclosure of Evidence of Alleged Abuse and the Dismissal of the Indictment] (in Slovenian).
  18. ^ "Žugelj: Gre za maščevanje tistih, ki so ugrabili policijo in tožilstvo" [Žugelj: It's About Revenge of Those Who Hijacked the Police and the Prosecutor's Office]. Nova24TV (in Slovenian). 13 May 2023.
  19. ^ "Former anti-money laundering czar faces abuse of office charges". The Slovenia Times. 2023-10-13. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
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