A proposed deal to take Scottish Championship club St. Mirren into fan ownership "faces late opposition after a Middle Eastern consortium with visions of developing the club in a manner similar to Manchester City submitted a rival bid," according to Graeme Macpherson of the HERALD SCOTLAND. A combined offer made by the St Mirren Independent Supporters Association and former Dir Gordon Scott for a majority shareholding in the Paisley club had "previously been accepted in principle" by the selling consortium but required 1,000 subscribers to agree to pay £12 ($17) a month to fund the takeover. That target was reached on Thursday night, "seemingly paving the way for Scott and a new board of directors to take charge next month." Now it has emerged "they face late competition from a Qatar-based consortium" which has offered a sum of £1.3M ($2M) up front for a 76% shareholding in the club, a figure around £300,000 ($432,195) more than the deal tabled by Scott and SMISA. It is understood the potential buyers "see great potential in St Mirren and believe the club -- with an influx of new players backed by Qatari sponsorship -- could be pushing for promotion and then European football within the next few years." They are "also keen to be a part of Renfrewshire Council’s plans" to create a £15M ($22M) regional sports village in the town (HERALD SCOTLAND, 6/18).
