EPL club Swansea City is "under new control for the first time in more than a decade" after a group headed by DC United Managing General Partner Jason Levien and Grizzlies co-Exec Chair Steve Kaplan finalized a deal to buy between 60-70% of the club, according to Chris Wathan of the Wales WESTERN MAIL. Details on the buyout from the consortium that "rescued the club from financial disaster" in '01 are "still scarce, though it is thought the deal is valued at around" $144M (all figures U.S.). The deal does "still need to be rubber stamped" by the EPL, though it is "expected to be ratified by next week." However, it is "understood that it was not the only potential deal on the table for the club with interest from a Chinese consortium also apparent over the past twelve months." There have been "suggestions that deal could have been worth potentially more to the selling shareholders than the U.S. offer." But sources have indicated that it was the U.S. group's "eagerness for large elements of continuity in the current set-up that convinced the deal was the right one for Swansea" (Wales WESTERN MAIL, 6/6). Wathan reported Swansea City's supporters trust has retained its 21.1% stake, having reiterated on Friday that it "had not been offered to sell" its stake. Those trustees will also "retain their seat" on the BOD but are now "seeking further talks with the new owners over a shareholder's agreement they see as key moving forward." Levien and Kaplan have "long stated" they want the supporters trust to "remain heavily in the running of the club" (WALESONLINE.co.uk, 6/5). The BBC's Dafydd Pritchard noted Levien and Kaplan are understood to be "keen to buy" Swansea's Liberty Stadium, which is "owned by the local council, with a view to increasing its capacity" (BBC.com, 6/5).
INVEST WISELY: Chinese retailer Suning said that it is spending around $307M to "buy around 70%" of Italian club Inter Milan, the "first deal by Chinese investors for control of a top European soccer club." Suning said that Inter Milan President Erick Thohir, an Indonesian businessman, will "hold about 30% of the club." The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Li & Wu note the acquisition is the "latest example of Chinese companies' making bold forays into the world's most popular game since President Xi Jinping, a self-proclaimed soccer fan, came to power" in '12 (WSJ.com, 6/6).
