Microsoft Boss In For Saints - 28/04/2007

The latest US sports franchise owner to be lured by English football is Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft. A highly respected individual locally when I lived in Seattle, he is considering an approach for the firm that owns Southampton Football Club. The Saints are located in a prosperous area of England where the only competition comes from hated rivals Portsmouth. Southampton Leisure's harbourside location and land alongside the club's St.Mary's Stadium is thought to have been among the features that have attracted Mr Allen, owner of Octopus, a £125m so-called 'gigayacht'. I celebrated the Millennium at one of the marinas on Southampton Water with my friend Joe the Saint and I can see the attractions of the location. Mr Allen, whose personal fortune runs to a cool £9bn, owns the Seattle Seahawks American football and the Portland Trail Blazers basketball teams. A bid of about £50m, which would include the cost of wiping out debts, for the Saints franchise would amount to small change for a man who is understood to have been in the UK for the last couple of weeks. Sources close to Mr Allen said he may be making his interest known in order to establish a market price for the company or flush out other interest.

Shares in Southampton Leisure Holdings closed up 16.5p or 35 per cent at 64p on Friday 27th April, valuing the company at about £17m, after the board told the Stock Exchange it had received and was considering a preliminary approach. JPMorgan is understood to be advising Mr Allen. Southampton FC has been afflicted by board room splits in recent years which culminated last year in the ousting last year of former chairman Rupert Lowe or 'Uncle Rupe' as he was known to Southampton fans. The Saints are still in with a chance of being in the Championship play offs. Getting into the Premiership next year would bring a big pay off in terms of the new television deal. There is no doubt that the club's performance on the pitch and its ability to invest in players has been hampered by debts acquired in its move from the quaint but cramped Dell to the less charming but more functional St.Mary's Stadium. A takeover would also be opportune given that Portsmouth have announced plans to move to a new waterside stadium on Portsea Island. I have a number of friends who are Saints fans. I only wish someone of this calibre and with these resources would buy Charlton. But I can see why a rational investor would prefer Southampton who are not in a crowded London football market but have a clear catchment area of their own.