Brazil: Vasco da Gama SAF Auction Won by Lamacchia’s Almirante in R$2 Billion Deal
Football Business: Brazil
Key Facts
—Auction. Almirante Participações S/A, the company of businessman Marcos Lamacchia, won the auction for 90% of Vasco da Gama’s football corporation (SAF) at Rio de Janeiro’s Court of Justice on 25 September — as the sole bidder.
—Money. Lamacchia committed a R$500 million injection into the football department, paid in five annual R$100 million instalments and barred from servicing old debts; the total operation exceeds R$2 billion.
—Who. Lamacchia, 47, is the stepson of Palmeiras president Leila Pereira and son of Crefisa founder José Roberto Lamacchia — a family link that the regulator Anresf will examine for conflicts of interest.
—Not done yet. The sale still requires approval by Vasco’s Deliberative Council, an extraordinary general assembly of club members and Anresf clearance.
—Background. Vasco has been in judicial recovery since 2024; the SAF’s shares are split between the club (30%), 777 Partners (31%, bought in 2022) and a 39% block disputed in arbitration.
Vasco da Gama’s long search for a new owner has crossed its decisive hurdle: Marcos Lamacchia’s Almirante Participações won the court-run auction for 90% of the club’s SAF on Friday — a R$2 billion-scale deal that still faces votes and a conflict-of-interest review.
What Happened at the Auction
The auction of 90% of the Vasco SAF’s shares was held on the afternoon of Friday 25 September at the 4th Business Court of the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice (TJRJ), within the club’s judicial recovery proceedings. The result favouring Almirante Participações S/A was homologated shortly before 3pm, Estadão reported.
There were no rival bidders. Lamacchia’s company had entered the process as the “stalking horse” — the baseline bidder entitled to make the first proposal and to cover any higher offer. None materialised, so the prerogative was never needed.
Lamacchia did not attend the hearing in person. He was represented by his partner at Almirante, Mário Junqueira, and by lawyer André Sica, according to Estadão’s court coverage.
The Money on the Table
The centrepiece of the winning proposal is a R$500 million capital injection, paid in five annual instalments of R$100 million. The money is destined exclusively for the football department and is explicitly forbidden from being used to pay off pre-existing debts — a clause designed to ensure the funds rebuild the squad rather than service the past.
Beyond that, the bid commits to investing R$120 million over ten years in the club’s training centre and R$30 million over two years in the youth categories. It also covers payments to creditors in the judicial recovery plan, plus tax, social-security and non-judicial debts. Adding all obligations, the total value of the operation surpasses R$2 billion, Estadão and ge reported.
The court had dispensed with an independent prior valuation, treating the auction itself as the “market test”. After the final bid, court assistants are still to produce a comparative study to validate the price and fend off any claim of a cut-price sale.
Who Is Marcos Lamacchia
Marcos Faria Lamacchia, 47, is a São Paulo-based investor with a discreet public profile. He is the son of José Roberto Lamacchia — founder of financial group Crefisa and husband of Palmeiras president Leila Pereira — making Marcos her stepson. His mother, Junia Faria, is the daughter of the late banker Aloysio de Andrade Faria, who appeared on Forbes’ billionaire list.
Trained in business administration with specialisations in accounting and corporate law at the University of Miami and at Fundação Getulio Vargas, he worked at Eagle Bank, Conglomerado Alfa and Fiesp and was a Crefisa director between 2004 and 2009. Since 2008 he has been a founding partner and CEO of Blue Star, a financial consultancy and investment firm in São Paulo.
That family tree is also the deal’s biggest legal question: the national football regulator Anresf is examining whether being the stepson of another club’s president constitutes a conflict of interest under Brazilian football’s ownership rules.
Why Vasco Got Here
Vasco’s SAF was created in 2022 when 777 Partners bought a 31% stake; the associative club kept 30%, while a further 39% remains tied up in an arbitration dispute. After 777 was removed from the SAF’s command amid its own collapse, the club’s finances deteriorated into judicial recovery.
The Lamacchia orbit has been financing the club through the crisis: Crefisa agreed an R$80 million loan in October 2025, Almirante lent R$40 million in July, and on 10 September the court authorised a further R$150 million financing line from Almirante — released in monthly tranches under judicial supervision — to keep the club solvent through the auction.
The same 10 September decision, by judge Simone Gastesi Chevrand, settled conflicts with former investor 777 Carioca LLC, which formally declared it would not oppose the recovery plan or the creation of the new SAF — clearing the path to Friday’s auction.
What Happens Next
Winning the auction is a decisive step, but not the last one. The operation must still be submitted to Vasco’s Deliberative Council and to an extraordinary general assembly where club members vote. It also faces scrutiny from Anresf, the national football regulation and sustainability agency, on the conflict-of-interest question.
The legal debate turns on Article 1,595 of the Civil Code, which counts a stepson as a first-degree relative by affinity, and on the CBF-linked regulation defining “significant influence” over a club. Anresf must decide whether the Leila Pereira connection disqualifies or merely conditions the purchase.
No completion date has been set. But the parties involved consider that the hardest stage — finding and validating a buyer inside a court-supervised process — has now been overcome.
What We Could Not Confirm
We could not confirm the exact per-year schedule of the creditor payments bundled into the R$2 billion total, nor how the disputed 39% arbitration block will be resolved into the new SAF’s final share structure.
It is also unclear when Anresf will rule on the conflict-of-interest question, and what conditions — if any — it might impose. We will update this report when the council vote and the regulator’s decision are published.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the Vasco da Gama SAF auction?
Almirante Participações S/A, the company of businessman Marcos Lamacchia, won the 25 September auction at Rio’s Court of Justice as the sole bidder, acquiring the right to 90% of the SAF’s shares pending internal approvals.
How much is the Vasco SAF deal worth?
The headline commitment is R$500 million for the football department over five years, plus R$120 million for the training centre, R$30 million for youth football and coverage of recovery-plan creditors and tax debts — bringing the total operation above R$2 billion.
Is the sale of Vasco’s SAF final?
Not yet. The deal still needs approval from Vasco’s Deliberative Council and an extraordinary members’ assembly, plus clearance from regulator Anresf, which is examining a possible conflict of interest because Lamacchia is the stepson of Palmeiras president Leila Pereira.
Sources
Estadão · ge · Lance · Estadão / profile
Connected Coverage
Vasco’s troubles on and off the pitch have been building for years — our earlier look at how the club reached this point.
Vasco da Gama, A Big Rio Club Is Sinking: Can a Cup Run Abroad Rescue Its Season?
Sources: Estadão; ge (Globo Esporte); Lance; CNN Brasil.
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