American sports tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks look certain to complete a takeover of Liverpool FC for an estimated $340 million (seeking additional investment for a new stadium and player acquisitions), after the cub’s board approved the move on Tuesday. Pending shareholder approval, the pair will become the seventh foreign and third American owner of an English Premier League club. Here are the others:
Aston Villa was acquired last September by Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner for $118.8 million. In July 2003, the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought an 85 percent share in the company that owned Chelsea FC, in a deal valuing the club at nearly $100 million. Since then, the oil tycoon has pumped more than $400 million into the club, and has been rewarded with two consecutive Premier League titles. Egyptian Mohamed Al Fayed, owner of Harrods, took a controlling stake in Fulham FC in 1997, investing $49 million in the club before taking over as its chairman. Since then, the club has moved all the way from the fourth division to the Premiership, where it’s remained since the 2001.
After a two-year battle, Manchester United was finally and somewhat aggressively taken over by the Malcolm Glazer family in August 2005 for $1.41 billion. Portsmouth was taken over by Russian Alexandre Gaydamak acquired full control of Portsmouth in July 2006 after he bought the controlling stake of chairman Milan Mandaric, the former NASL and MSL owner, for an estimated $58.46 million. Finally, West Ham United was purchased last November for $161.3 million by a consortium of mostly Icelandic investors led by UEFA member Eggert Magnusson.