The club announced on Tuesday that a local consortium, 'De Sterkhouders Vitesse Arnhem', has officially started negotiations for a complete takeover of the struggling former Eredivisie outfit.
Now, Vitesse confirmed the consortium has acquired a 24.9% share in the club after taking over the shares from the recently departed Dane Murphy. The Sterkhouders have since also reached an agreement with the four remaining owners to acquire the remaining 75.1%.
If the KNVB approve of the takeover, Vitesse will officially be back in local hands. "The proposed transfer of all shares must be approved in advance by the KNVB licensing committee," said Vitesse on the club website.
"To this end, the Sterkhouders will follow the usual procedure for 'change of control' and cooperate fully with the underlying investigation."
With approval from the KNVB's independent licencing committee, Vitesse will officially be saved.
"With the planned acquisition of all shares and the return of ownership to the region, as well as the fulfilment of other crucial licensing requirements (such as having a bank account and an accountant), Vitesse is taking the next step towards definitive licence retention. It is up to the KNVB licensing committee to make a final decision on this matter. Vitesse has proposed to the licensing committee that further discussions be held on this matter in the near future."
'So here we are'
The Sterkhouders spoke to the Vitesse fans in a statement on the club's social media platforms. "Vitesse is literally a club of the first hour. The second-oldest professional club in the Netherlands," the statement said.
"We've been a fixture in Dutch football since 1892: headstrong, combative, and rooted in Arnhem. Just too small for the tablecloth, but too big for the napkin. Not much of that status remains in 2025. Years of overambitious goals and dependence on external parties led to erratic daily rates, public unrest and sporting uncertainty.
"Time and again, we were condemned to survival and outside help. A club that was in danger of losing its soul, drifting further and further away from the city and its supporters. Until Arnhem rose up.
"So here we are."
The Sterkhouders saved Vitesse once before. The club were on the brink of extinction in the summer of 2024 when the small group of local entrepreneurs joined forces and created the 'Air Bridge', an emergency plan named after the English Airborne division that liberated the city at the end of the Second World War.
"Now we go a step further. In consultation with the current shareholders, we plan to acquire and transfer all shares to the Sterkhouders. To Arnhem residents. To entrepreneurs from the region. No more temporary bridging, but a structural vision for the future."
"Vitesse becomes ours again. With Arnhem courage, without fuss. With action based on sportive realism, love for the club, and responsibility. Because only if your club feels like home, is it worth fighting for.
"Onto a stable future for our Vites. Our club love is real. Then, now, and tomorrow."
Long road
Vitesse, formerly famous for being a partner club of Chelsea, played in the Eredivisie uninterruptedly from 1990 to 2024 and were a steady sub-top side, featuring in the UEFA Europa League or UEFA Europa Conference League six times between 2012 and 2021.
When Russian owner Valery Oyf was forced out of the club following the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the club were left behind with a mountain of debt. American Coley Parrey, owner of investment company Common Group, attempted a takeover, but was denied by the KNVB after failing to convince the association of being able to keep the club financially afloat.
A new ownership group, consisting of Americans Dane Murphy and Flint Reilly, Germans Timo Braasch and Leon Muller, and Italian-American Bryan Mornaghi, took over the club in January 2025, but ran into trouble with the KNVB regarding the completion of the takeover.
The KNVB weren't convinced that Parry had been frozen out of Vitesse's business and were afraid the American still had a say within the club.
Parry himself reportedly put the five owners together in an attempt to keep control of the club.