Manchester City agreed Monday to a takeover by a United Arab Emirates business group, a deal that will end former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's brief ownership of the Premier League club.
Thaksin will remain as honorary president of Manchester City without an administrative role.
The Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment will now look at the club's accounts and contracts before a takeover is completed.
The group reached agreement late Sunday night with Thaksin, board member Sulaiman Al Fahim, who brokered the deal, told The Associated Press.
Thaksin will retain a minority stake and remain on the board as honorary president without any administrative responsibilities, al-Fahim said.
The club said in a statement that a "memorandum of understanding" has been signed and the deal is subject to a due diligence, allowing investors to request information from Man City and the Premier League.
Financial terms were not immediately available, but the UAE group described it as a "huge takeover" which gives the consortium "all the management rights."
Al-Fahim -- chief executive of Abu Dhabi-based developer Hydra Properties -- reached the deal at the Abu Dhabi Emirates Palace Hotel with Thaksin and Khalid Kadfour Al-Muhairy, the legal chief of the Emirates Group.
Al-Fahim said the group was attracted to the "richest European competition with more than $3 billion revenue."
Like Thaksin, the new owner wants manager Mark Hughes to deliver Champions League qualification by breaking into the top four of the Premier League.
"We will give support to the club by investing and buying new players," Al Fahim told the AP. "My goal is to make Manchester City one of the top four clubs in the Premier League."
After two wins in the first three matches of the season, City is third in the standings -- one point behind leader Chelsea.
Unlike many of the Middle Eastern funds that have taken large stakes in international companies in recent years, City's new owner is not affiliated with the government, al-Fahim said.
Al-Fahim said the little-known consortium is composed of "prestigious businessmen" in the UAE's capital city, but he declined to name the group's members. Al-Fahim said he represents the investors but is not himself one of them.
Al-Fahim pledged to clear any pending payments and solve the club's financial problems, which left Thaksin resorting to obtaining loans from former chairman John Wardle.
"We will adopt marketing plans that reflect positively on the club and the company," al-Fahim said.
Al-Fahim said the deal was a "massive achievement" that will help make Abu Dhabi a global sports capital.
"We were looking for a deal that can support Abu Dhabi sport worldwide," he said. "I am opening a window for my UAE players to play in the Premier League. Our idea is to support the youth in the UAE, and to help the talented players to play in the UK and Europe."
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment