Two businessmen "are attempting to buy" League Championship club Reading for just £1 ($1.70), according to the READING CHRONICLE. Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi and India's Mohit Burman "are both attempting to take control of the club, ending the on-going takeover saga." Reading Chair John Madejski and majority shareholder Anton Zingarevich "are looking to hand over the reins to a new owner." Sagi "is believed to have visited the Madejski Stadium last week to discuss his ambitious plans with the club." They include "turning the area around the Madejski Stadium into a retail park with hotel and building houses on the club’s Hogwood Park training ground." Sagi "could purchase Reading for £1 then pay off the club’s debt" which amounted to £38M ($64M). The pair "are looking for a quick solution to the ownership situation," with Reading being pressed by U.K. tax authority HMRC to settle a £3.2M ($5.3M) tax bill (READING CHRONICLE, 5/26). In London, Jack De Menezes reported having finished "an agonising seventh," Reading will face another year in the Championship, and it appears that Zingarevich "lost his interest in the club" (INDPENDENT, 5/26).
