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Articles on football club takeovers and related issues
I have a lot of time for Steve Bruce as a manager. First, I think that he is a genuine football person who is underrated as a manager. Indeed, he is being talked about as a possible future England manager. Second, he is a nice guy. When he was managing Birmingham City, a friend bumped into him in a Warwickshire pub and he was willing to chat to an ordinary football fan who was not a Blues supporter.
An American investment group is in the ‘preliminary stages’ of considering a bid for Tottenham Hotspur. The club’s potential is tied up with the redevelopment of White Hart Lane and it is thought that a bid is unlikely until progress is made on the stadium plans.
It is also questionable whether Cain Hoy would meet the near £1bn valuation of Spurs by owner Joe Lewis, a currency trader who has been Tottenham’s majority shareholder since 2001.
Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has denied reports that the club is for sale. It had been suggested that he was interesting in taking over Rangers in which he has a 9 per cent stake. However, he has also said that he will not be buying any more shares in Rangers.
A takeover at some point in the future has not been completely ruled out, however, as he has said that he will not sell the club until the end of next season.
Tottenham Hotspur have denied newspaper reports that the club would be put up for sale for £1bn. This followed the news that the club would have to relocate away from White Hart Lane for one season while the stadium was rebuilt.
There is a new mood of optimism at Barrow AFC, the successors to an historic Football League side. The club is currently top of the Vanarama Conference North and its takeover has been successfully completed with the grant of approval by the Football Association.
The proposed £45 millon sale of Sheffield Wednesday to Azerbaijani businessman Hafiz Mammadov has collapsed. Milan Mandaric, who has been the owner of the Owls for three-and-a-half years, will now have to find a new buyer.
The players have been sporting the ‘Azerbaijan Land of Fire’ logo on their shirts. Due diligence had been completed. Mr Mandaric has now threatened legal action against Mammadov.
In 2008 Nuneaton Borough folded. The replacement club, Nuneaton Town, still referred as to ‘Boro’ by fans, was demoted two divisions. They have fought their way back to the Conference and have had some good news for the start of the season.
The takeover bid by One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson and John Ryan for Doncaster Rovers has failed. The associated crowdfunding inititaive raised only about half the money required. The Football League has told the pair that they would not meet its ‘fit and proper person’ test.
Leyton Orient have become the latest English club to be taken over by a foreign owner after chairman Barry Hearn agreed to sell his 90 per cent stake in the club to Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti who works in renewable energy and waste management.. This shows that even a smaller London club in League 1 can be an attractive proposition.
Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner has issued a statement saying that talks on the sale of the club have been productive and ongoing. However, no deal on a sale has been reached eight weeks after the club was officially put on a market.