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Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams in Aston Villa takeover bid



Sky News understands that former Arsenal captain Tony Adams and a former Chelsea executive are seeking financial backing for a takeover bid for Aston Villa.

The former Arsenal and England footballer Tony Adams has approached City investors about backing a £150m takeover of Aston Villa, the struggling Premier League club.

Sky News has learnt that Mr Adams has been working with Paul Smith, a former executive at Chelsea FC and IMG, the sports rights agency, on a possible bid.

They have approached a number of private equity and other investment firms in recent weeks in an effort to raise approximately £75m in new equity to finance an offer for Aston Villa.

The remainder of the funding for a takeover would probably be in the form of new debt, with a unit of Goldman Sachs understood to have been sounded out about providing the additional capital.

Mr Adams and Mr Smith are said to have formed a new company called Halo which they intend to use as a vehicle to acquire Aston Villa and minority stakes in other leading football clubs.

One City source said on Thursday that Portugal's Sporting Lisbon and Italy's Internazionale were among the other clubs in which Halo was likely to express an interest.

Brazil and Belgium are also among the national leagues that the vehicle was assessing, with Mr Adams and Mr Smith interested in establishing an international network that would create "a long supply chain of playing talent", a source said.

It is unclear whether they have yet secured financial backing for their plans.

Aston Villa has effectively been up for sale for more than a year, with Randy Lerner, the American tycoon who bought it for just over £60m in 2008, keen to offload it.

Mr Lerner has ploughed tens of millions of pounds into the West Midlands club, with some initial success in the form of several top six Premier League finishes.

However, recent seasons have seen Aston Villa reverting to a persistent battle against relegation.

Last year, Mr Lerner appointed Bank of America Merrill Lynch, to handle an auction of Aston Villa, and dozens of parties are since said to have lodged an interest.

Halo has been given access to a data room holding information on Aston Villa's finances, although its bid is not understood to be the current frontrunner of those remaining in the process, sources indicated on Thursday.

Mr Lerner's advisers will wait until Aston Villa's Premier League fate is resolved before holding further serious talks with any of the remaining potential buyers, who also include at least one US-based consortium, according to insiders.

The club currently stand 14th in the table but are only two points clear of the relegation zone with three games left.

Relegation from English football's top flight could have a profound impact on the value of Aston Villa, partly because a new £5bn-plus television rights deal (partly funded by Sky plc, the owner of Sky News) is due to begin in the 2016-17 season.

Regarded as one of Arsenal's best-ever players, Adams has since had an indifferent stint in football management, initially with Wycombe Wanderers and more recently in Azerbaijan.

Coincidentally, Arsenal and Aston Villa will meet later this month in the FA Cup Final at Wembley.

Neither Mr Adams nor Mr Smith could be reached for comment, while BAML declined to comment.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/9839921/former-arsenal-captain-tony-adams-in-aston-villa-takeover-bid

Aston Villa bidder granted has been granted exclusivity

Aston Villa could have new owners by the start of the new Premier League season after an unnamed bidder was granted exclusivity.

Villa owner Randy Lerner had been in talks with three consortiums interested in buying the club and now one of those has been granted exclusivity, meaning they can hold further talks over the next four to six weeks.

Sky sources understand the three consortiums involved are, a group led by former Chelsea executive Paul Smith, one of American businessmen and a third group from China.

The price is believed to be in the region of £150m and is being negotiated by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, who are the bank negotiating on behalf of owner Learner.

Sky understand that that Smith's consortium is unlikely to have been granted exclusivity, so it appears to be a straight fight between the American group and the Chinese.

Villa have effectively been up for sale for more than a year, with Lerner, the American tycoon who bought the club for just over £65m in 2006, keen to sell.

Last year, Lerner appointed Bank of America Merrill Lynch to handle an auction of the club, and dozens of parties are said to have lodged an interest.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11677/9879201/aston-villa-bidder-granted-has-been-granted-exclusivity

a third group from China

羅力亞:Aston Villa bidder granted has been granted exclusivity
Aston Villa could have new owners by the start of the new Premier League season after an unnamed bidder was granted exclusivity.
....... (2015-06-09 09:01) 

愈黎愈多中資滲入去英超了。