Potential bidders for EPL side Aston Villa believe that Owner Randy Lerner "may now be willing to sell" for just £100M ($162M) -- "half of what was thought to be the original asking price when he put the Premier League club up for sale in May and only around a third of what he has spent," according to Jason Burt of the London TELEGRAPH.
Lerner had hoped to recoup £200M ($325M) for Villa but, despite "tentative discussions with interested parties and the American businessman issuing another statement in July claiming the sale process had been 'productive,' no buyer has been found by Bank of America, which is handling the sale." The official asking price is now thought to be £150M ($244M), and a so-called "indicative" price is said to be £125M ($203M). But bidders believe Lerner "would be prepared to sell for as little as" £100M and understand he has "to cut his losses."
Given that Lerner paid £62.7M ($102M) to acquire Villa eight years ago and it was estimated that by '10 he had pumped £206M into the club -- by now the figure is believed to be around £250M -- he "will be losing a lot of money on the deal" (TELEGRAPH, 9/27).
