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Articles on football club takeovers and related issues
Former Bolton Wanderers striker Dean Holdsworth is close to a takeover of the club. His Sports Shield group has been granted a 72-hour period of exclusivity in which to complete a buyout.
Bolton face a High Court hearing on Monday, with HM Revenue and Customs petitioning to have the club liquidated over an unpaid tax and VAT bill of about £3m. If a takeover cannot be agreed, Bolton are expected to enter voluntary administration.
A takeover of Crawley Town is imminent. The prospective purchaser is Turkish steel magnate Ziya Eren who is president of a not particularly successful club in the Turkish second tier.
Negotiations have been taking place since October, although a British consortium was also said to be interested. The club has been for sale since 2013.
Hibernian fans have been urged to give greater backing to their buy out vehicle, Hibernian Supporters Limited. So far they have contributed £250,000 and own seven-and-a-half per cent of the shares. It is hoped that by the end of the year they will have raised £500k.
With due diligence undertaken, a £200m takeover of Everton could be completed in the next few weeks. It is understood that the pace of talks has picked up. Two China-based investors are also interested, but they have made much less progress.
The club has emphasised that the construction of a new stadium nearby in Walton Hall Park will depend as much on a partnership with the city council as outside investment.
Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust have launched an attempt to acquire the club from Eddie Davies wih the support of local institutions and businesses. Talks with the Sports Shield consortium led by Dean Holdsworth have not so far produced a solution for the financially troubled club.
A group of German investors is reported to be interested in taking a stake in Bradford City. Interest from German investors in English clubs is relatively unusual.
No imminent developments are expected from the talks with the German investors. They surfaced last summer and attended a home game late last year.
Last summer a takeover bid headed by former QPR chairman Gianna Paladani came to nothing.
William Hill Betting are reporting that a sale of Everton FC may be close to being agreed. The relatively complex ownership structure of the club might mean that a sale could take some time to complete.
Hard nosed American investors are replacing the oligarchs and egoists who have invested in English football over the last twenty years. If the deal at Everton goes ahead, eight of the twenty Premier League clubs will have investors from the US.
Charlton fanzine editor Rick Everitt reckons that Charlton are in the last chance saloon. There is the chance of a takeover in the January transfer window that could transform the fortunes of the relegation threatened club.
In the latest issue of Voice of the Valley, Everitt revealed an exchange of e mails between former Charlton chief executive Peter Varney and the current incumbent Katrien Miere. Varney was trying to set up a meeting to discuss an investment proposal, but effectively got the brush off.
Top football journalist David Conn considers why American investors are interested in the EPL as the Barclays Premier League is known in the States, despite the fact that soccer is not a top sport there.
Seven Premiership clubs have American investors with Everton likely to join them. The main attraction is to make money on the increasing capital value of the clubs, something that has worked well for the Glazers at Manchester United.