Foreign ownership of Premier League clubs
Sept 4 (Reuters) - An Abu Dhabi-based company bought out Manchester City from former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra signed a memorandum of understanding with the Premier League club on Monday.
The deal was struck late on Sunday between Thaksin and the Abu Dhabi group. Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment board member Sulaiman al-Fahim said Thaksin would continue at the club as an a honorary board member.
Here are some other Premier League clubs who now have foreign owners.
* ASTON VILLA - American billionaire Randy Lerner completed his takeover of Aston Villa in September 2006 for 62.6 million pounds (2.5 million) after securing the required 90 percent of the Birmingham club’s shares.
— The Cleveland Browns owner installed himself as chairman of Villa, taking the place of Doug Ellis who stepped down after 38 years at the Midlands side.
* CHELSEA - In July 2003 Russian businessman Roman Abramovich agreed to buy the company that owned Chelsea in a deal which valued it at nearly 60 million pounds (.50 million).
— Under the cash offer, Abramovich, through his English offer vehicle Chelsea Ltd, agreed to purchase 84.9 million Chelsea Village shares at 35 pence each, just over half of its entire issued share capital.
— Abramovich has spent millions on the club since 2003 and has been rewarded with Chelsea winning successive Premier League titles and domestic cups.
* FULHAM - In 1997 Egyptian-born businessman Mohamed Al Fayed, owner of top London department store Harrods, invested 30 million pounds ( million) in Fulham and took over as chairman after agreeing to acquire a controlling stake.
— With his financial backing Fulham repurchased the freehold to their Craven Cottage stadium on the banks of the river Thames in west London for an estimated 7.5 million pounds, while on the pitch they were promoted to the top-flight in 2001.
* LIVERPOOL - The 2005 European champions, seeking an injection of cash for two years to help challenge for top honours and fund a new stadium, agreed in 2006 to be taken over by U.S. sports tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks for 174 million pounds (0 million).
— The 18-times English league champions had been in talks with Dubai International Capital (DIC), but DIC dropped its bid plans when Liverpool asked for more time to consider a rival offer from Gillett. In March 2008 takeover talks involving Tom Hicks and Dubai International Capital (DIC) were terminated in March amid disagreement over who should be running the club.
— DIC, which made a 400 million pounds (7.6 million) bid for the Merseyside club, said it was “in advanced discussions” with Liverpool’s co-owners although no agreement had been reached on price or shareholding percentage.
* MANCHESTER CITY - In July 2007 former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was hailed as an unlikely saviour when he bought the club for 81 million pounds (6.3 million).
— New managers Kevin Keegan and Sven-Goran Eriksson, both tried to restore the clubs fortunes, but failed. Eriksson joined the City scrapheap in June 2008 after just a season in charge. Mark Hughes was named new manager on June 4.
— Prospective new owners, Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment, said on Monday they wanted to make Manchester City the biggest club in the Premier League.
* MANCHESTER UNITED - In August 2005, supporters were unhappy with the American tycoon, Malcolm Glazer’s 790 million pounds (.41 billion) takeover and used the first home game where his sons Joel, Avi and Bryan, all board members, were in attendance, to make their voices heard.
— U.S. financier Malcolm Glazer said he had raised his stake in Manchester United to over 75 percent, finally gaining full control in May 2005 of the club he had battled to acquire for more than two years.
* PORTSMOUTH - Alexandre Gaydamak acquired full control of Portsmouth in July 2006 after he bought the remaining stake from chairman Milan Mandaric.
— Media reports suggested that Mandaric had sold his remaining shares to Gaydamak, a Russian-born French national, for about 32 million pounds (.46 million).
— Gaydamak’s initial investment for a 50 percent stake in the club had been reported at 15 million pounds.
— Mandaric injected new life into Portsmouth after taking over the club in 1998, winning promotion from the second division in 2003. He has stayed on as a non-executive chairman.
* WEST HAM - In November 2006 West Ham United agreed an 85 million pounds (1.3 million) takeover from a consortium led by Iceland Football Association president and UEFA member Eggert Magnusson.
— Magnusson replaced Terry Brown as West Ham chairman. In Dec. 2007 Icelandic majority owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson became chairman after he bought his compatriot’s five per cent stake and invested a further 30.5 million pounds (.31 million) into the company.