When is a sponsor no longer a sponsor? When it becomes a sponsor-investor. At least, that is the case for chemicals company Evonik Industries which, this month, bought a nine per cent stake in German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund for €26.7m.

The brand, which has been shirt sponsor of the club since 2007, also this month announced a renewal of its shirt deal with the club and we have all the details on that new deal and how it has been impacted by the new investment.

Image: Getty Images/Stuart Franklin/Bongarts

The sponsor-investor model has been present in German football for some time, with brands associated with current Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich holding stock in the club since 2002. It remains to be seen whether other sponsors in the country will follow suit.

Staying in top-level European football, we look at the fifth brand to appear on the once-sacred jersey of Spanish Liga club FC Barcelona, Turkish white goods manufacturer Beko, and why the Catalan club has shifted towards an extensive branding programme for its shirt.

This issue also profiles the extensive rights gaming technology company Power8 will receive under its seven-year deal with Barcelona’s cross-city rivals RCD Espanyol on both the stadium and team side of the club’s commercial programme.

Timo Lumme, television and marketing director of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), tells us of his confidence in the organisation’s new price point for its TOP programme and we have all the details on the deals signed by consumer electronics brand Panasonic and tyre and rubber company Bridgestone.

Insider also brings you on the details on a record figure for Glasgow 2014, Pyeongchang 2018’s first deals, title sponsorship deals for cycling’s Tour de Suisse and rugby union’s Pro12, the impact of new gaming laws on mid to lower-level Premier League team shirt deals and this month’s special analysis feature looks at which brands are involved with golf’s Majors.