Struggling Portsmouth Football Club, rooted to the bottom of the Premier League have a new owner: Balram Chainrai. Hong Kong businessman Chainrai loaned previous owner Ali al-Faraj £17m and has now exercised a clause in the contract to take control of the seaside club. With an upcoming HMRC winding up order to answer to, the club is in an exceptionally poor position and Chainrai has no willingness to own the football club long term. Instead he is hoping to clarify the finances and find a new buyer – Portsmouth’s fifth of the season before the winding up order comes into force.
Posts Tagged ‘Foreign Ownership’
Portsmouth FC Have New Owner
February 4, 2010
Manchester United Bond Issue Oversubscribed
Manchester United’s bond issue has successfully raised in excess of £500 million. Demand for the Sterling bonds at 8.75% and dollar bonds at 8.35% was twice oversubscribed but the Glazers declined to take any more than the £500 million they first wanted. The bond will leave the club paying £43 million a year paid in two installments.
January 22, 2010
Liverpool Still Struggling to Sell 50% Stake
Liverpool FC’s American owners have been looking to sell at least 25% of their stake for over a year and may have found a prince with enough money to make their fairy tale come ture. Saudi Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah has been linked with buying 50% of the club following an announcement that he has agreed to build a sport academy in partnership with Liverpool Football Club in Saudia Arabia.
Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah is Chairman of the Fama Group a Saudi based holding firm and was quoted in Al-Royadh as saying he is “currently seeking to buy 50 per cent of the shares in the club which is now suffering of debts worth £245 million.”
A spokesman for the Fama Group at the weekend stated:
“What I know is that the prince attended the Liverpool game against Hull and signed yesterday an agreement with Liverpool to build a sport academy in Saudi Arabia.”
The deal would be fantastic news for the Merseyside club following the new shirt deal with Standard Chartered and points to a corner being turned off the field. The club’s fans will be hoping this leads to some progress being made on the club’s proposed move to their new home Stanley Park.
Liverpool FC’s American owners have been looking to sell at least 25% of their stake for over a year and may have found a prince with enough money to make their fairy tale come ture. Saudi Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah has been linked with buying 50% of the club following an announcement that he has agreed to build a sport academy in partnership with Liverpool Football Club in Saudia Arabia.
Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah is Chairman of the Fama Group a Saudi based holding firm and was quoted in Al-Royadh as saying he is “currently seeking to buy 50 per cent of the shares in the club which is now suffering of debts worth £245 million.”
A spokesman for the Fama Group at the weekend stated:
“What I know is that the prince attended the Liverpool game against Hull and signed yesterday an agreement with Liverpool to build a sport academy in Saudi Arabia.”
The deal would be fantastic news for the Merseyside club following the new shirt deal with Standard Chartered and points to a corner being turned off the field. The club’s fans will be hoping this leads to some progress being made on the club’s proposed move to their new home Stanley Park.
September 28, 2009
Yeung Secures Further 51.8% Stake in Birmingham City
Carson Yeung has increased his holding in Birmingham City by 51.8% to take his total ownership of the club to 81.7%. He is expected to complete the takeover over the course of the next few months. Yeung has big plans for Birmingham City and is extremely keen for the club to have a presence in China:
“Over the past 10 years China has had its sports boosted, but there has been no development for football, so I would like to make my humble contribution. In the future, when the team is stabilised, we will recruit Chinese players who have potential.”
Yeung clearly feels Birmingham City will be able to take advantage of the commercial opportunities in the relatively untapped Chinese market. As yet no club has been able to corner the market with Chinese fans notoriously fickle – preferring to follow their superstar heros rather than remain loyal to any one club. Yeung belieevs he will gain from advertising revenues if he can persuade his manager to introduce some Chinese players into the squad and help promote football in China.
September 23, 2009
Yeung Takeover Gathers Pace
Carson Yeung’s takeover of Birmingham City is looking more and more imminent. Having already deposited £3 million on August 19th it now appears his bankroll has allowed manager Alex McLeish to splash out on Portuguese midfielder Michel. The total cost of the club is likely to be £81.5million with additional expenditure unaccounted for. Yeung’s last attempt at a takeover in December 2007 ended acrimoniously with current shareholders David Gold and David Sullivan reacting badly to the failed bid. However, the board appear to be more confident this time around with rumours already circulating that Gold and Sullivan are tempted to invest in West Ham United.
August 26, 2009
Al Fahim Announced as new Owner of Portsmouth FC
“Dr” Sulaiman Al Fahim has confirmed he is the new owner of Portsmouth FC ending speculation of a new attempt by Peter Storrie. A statement was released on Al Fahim’s behalf stating: “Devondale Investments, the current owner of Portsmouth FC, and Al Fahim Asia Associates Ltd. (AAA), a company fully owned by Sulaiman Al Fahim, Chairman of the Board of Portsmouth FC, have reached an agreement whereby AAA has become the new sole owner of the club,”
“Sulaiman Al Fahim welcomed this agreement and looks forward to helping the club build on its impressive history and achieve new successes in the Premier League.
“The chairman of the club would like to extend his gratitude to the players, staff and the supporters of Portsmouth FC who have shown an extraordinary level of commitment and loyalty to this great club.”
August 26, 2009
Bari Bought by Dallas Businessman Barton
Bari football club who return to Serie A this year have been bought by Dallas based businessman Tim Barton, owner of JMJ Holdings. The company will take control of the Italian top league new boys later this year once the takeover has been agreed. Italian clubs have been averse to foreign owners in the past but this move is likely to prompt speculation regarding a number of other Serie A clubs.
August 19, 2009
