The proposed takeover of Leeds United has moved a step closer after the group looking to buy the Whites confirmed they have signed a deal to arrange the purchase of the club.
A statement from Dubai-based finance group GFH Capital Ltd said they have "signed an exclusive agreement to lead and arrange the acquisition of Leeds City Holdings, the parent company of LUFC.
"Due to a confidentiality provision, no further details can be given about the details of the transcation."
The club has yet to make any comment on any takeover deal.
Members of senior management at GFH Capital Ltd sat with Leeds chairman Ken Bates in the directors' box for the Whites' 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Among their number were David Haigh, deputy chief executive of GFH Capital Limited, and Salem Patel, a board member at the private equity company. Both previously attended Elland Road for United's victory over Wolves on the first day of the season. Leeds have been identified by the group as an attractive investment due to the absence of any debt and the club's large fanbase.
The Gulf Daily News quoted a Bahraini source close to the takeover as saying: "This deal is a great one. It is a great investment as this is one of the six most popular teams in the country.
"As it is now, the football club has no debt. The only thing that they owe is for a lease, but that is not a big deal.
"Last year I believe that the club made £4 million to £5m and as a brand name they are almost at the same level as Premier League teams.
"If they do get into the Premier League, it will make the investment that much better."
Any takeover of Leeds would end Bates' seven-year reign which has been dogged by supporter unrest.
Protests have regularly been staged against the former Chelsea owner for a perceived lack of investment.
Thursday, 27 September 2012
Leeds United takeover moves closer
The proposed takeover of Leeds United has moved a step closer after the group looking to buy the Whites confirmed they have signed a deal to arrange the purchase of the club.
A statement from Dubai-based finance group GFH Capital Ltd said they have "signed an exclusive agreement to lead and arrange the acquisition of Leeds City Holdings, the parent company of LUFC.
"Due to a confidentiality provision, no further details can be given about the details of the transcation."
The club has yet to make any comment on any takeover deal.
Members of senior management at GFH Capital Ltd sat with Leeds chairman Ken Bates in the directors' box for the Whites' 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Among their number were David Haigh, deputy chief executive of GFH Capital Limited, and Salem Patel, a board member at the private equity company. Both previously attended Elland Road for United's victory over Wolves on the first day of the season. Leeds have been identified by the group as an attractive investment due to the absence of any debt and the club's large fanbase.
The Gulf Daily News quoted a Bahraini source close to the takeover as saying: "This deal is a great one. It is a great investment as this is one of the six most popular teams in the country.
"As it is now, the football club has no debt. The only thing that they owe is for a lease, but that is not a big deal.
"Last year I believe that the club made £4 million to £5m and as a brand name they are almost at the same level as Premier League teams.
"If they do get into the Premier League, it will make the investment that much better."
Any takeover of Leeds would end Bates' seven-year reign which has been dogged by supporter unrest.
Protests have regularly been staged against the former Chelsea owner for a perceived lack of investment.
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Great news,
ReplyDeletebye bye Kenneth, your time bleeding our club dry is nearly over.
Just hope the new guys have more ambition
Good day
good riddance bates!! marching on!!
ReplyDeleteAlways be cautious and be careful what you wish for, Master Bates may well be a thorn in our sides but were still here.
ReplyDeleteI like all Leeds supporters want rid but I have reservations about this take over. The delays have all been blamed on Bates but are we sure of this and do the new owners have tens of millions to invest as that is what is needed to build a average prem. side.
Lets hope so or we could just become a bottom prem side and that would be no fun trying to avoid relegation every year.
60 million in the prem is good money but only if it is reinvested in players, if not we will be a bottom side. All this is based on getting up this year.
MOT
Whatever anyone thinks of Bates - and i'm no fan - they must agree that it's Bates who has made us an attractive proposition by making us solvent and in the black again. Also the fact that this takeover consortium sees us as an investment is a bit of a worry, we want a benefactor who's a fan of the club not an investor who's in it to make money (like Bates) taking over, having said that it's a step in the right direction
ReplyDeleteBates out at any cost. He is Chelsea scum. Whatever tomorrow brings be it good or bad, it will be easier to take without that lump holding us back. As far as solvency goes, ask those that never got paid what they were owed when Bates bought us for a quid! He's put nothing in and bled us dry. Good riddance old master bates.
ReplyDeleteOh ye of little memory. Were we not dead and buried. Were we not a laughing stock not only to English Football but worldwide too. This man came in at a time when no one would touch us with a barge pole, sold all our best players, put us in administration, demoted us to the old 3rd division, ran us on a shoestring and got the finances back on track, and then makes 50 million for 8 years work. All this at well past retirement age. Lets hope and prey that some time in the future we can look back on the Bates ownership as a complete waste of 8 years for our club and not as a saviour of Leeds United.
ReplyDeleteSelling out to islam... Enough said..
ReplyDeleteWTF has religion got to do with it you moron. Bates is a Christian and made a balls of everything but that had nothing to do with what his religion. People like you are the ones that are holding our great club back from being a worldwide powerhouse. Go back in that hole you came from you idiot.
DeleteMoney has no religion... let's just hope that this lot invest in the club to realise its potential. Bye bye Bates, Chelsea scumbag.
ReplyDelete"I shall not rest until Leeds United are kicked out of the football league. Their fans are the scum of the Earth, absolute animals and a disgrace. I will do everything in my power to make this happen"
Ken Bates, 1984
Such a wise comment, well done mate, not like the idiot who wrote 'selling out to Islam'.
ReplyDelete