The future of EPL side Aston Villa was "shrouded in further intrigue" on Thursday with the revelation that former Chelsea and IMG exec Paul Smith is "believed to be fronting a consortium that wants to take over the club," according to Teddy Cutler of the LONDON TIMES. Smith's group, Halo, is reportedly "confident that it has secured financial backing" for the £150M ($229M) bid. However, "no concrete transactions will take place" until Villa, which has enjoyed an "upturn in form since Tim Sherwood took over as manager in February," has definitively avoided relegation. Several private equity firms are "said to have been approached about buying the club" from Owner Randy Lerner in recent weeks, with around £75M ($114M) needed to finance the club that Lerner purchased for £62.6M in '06. The remaining £75M for the bid "would come from debt secured against the club." Although it has been reported that former Arsenal defender Tony Adams has a role in the takeover bid, "his involvement is not thought to be significant at this point" (LONDON TIMES, 5/7). The BBC reported Adams "would be
brought in to work on football matters if the takeover is successful but
would not pose a threat" to Sherwood, who said, "I haven't heard anything. It's out of my hands. I know Tony but only through playing. He's a good guy, I have a lot of respect for Tony" (BBC, 5/7).
