Article Stock Quotes Comments more in Soccer ».Email Print Save ↓ More . .smaller Larger By JAMES HOOKWAY Malaysia's Tony Fernandes might soon join the list of Asian tycoons to dabble in the glamour of the world's most-watched soccer league if his efforts to buy a majority stake in London's Queens Park Rangers succeed. View Full Image Reuters Queens Park Rangers' Tommy Smith chased the ball against Bolton Wanderers during their English Premier League soccer match at Loftus Road in London on Saturday. .People familiar with the situation say Mr. Fernandes, the 47-year-old chief executive of budget airline AirAsia Bhd., hopes to secure a 51% stake in the English Premier League club by buying entrepreneur Bernie Ecclestone's 62% holding along with Lakshmi Mittal, the London-based global steel tycoon who already owns a third of QPR. An announcement could come as soon as Tuesday, these people said, though they cautioned that talks could still fall apart. The value of the stake is unclear. Mr. Fernandes couldn't immediately be reached for comment, nor could Messrs. Ecclestone or Mittal. If he succeeds, Mr. Fernandes could join the growing number of Asian bosses who own or have owned English Premier League clubs. Thailand's ousted leader Thaksin Shinawatra bought Manchester City and encouraged fans to call him "Frank" before he agreed in 2008 to sell it to a private equity group led by a member of Abu Dhabi's royal family. Hong Kong's Carson Yeung bought Birmingham City only to see it relegated last season to a lower league, while Indian poultry firm Venky's Ltd. bought Blackburn Rovers in November. Mr. Fernandes in June said he made an offer to buy West Ham United, but the board rejected his offer. View Full Image Bloomberg News Tony Fernandes, chief executive officer of AirAsia Bhd, speaking during a joint news conference with Shinichiro Ito, president of All Nippon Airways Co. .English soccer is widely watched across the world, especially in Asia, where it is commonplace to see people dressing themselves up in the colors of top teams such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal on weekends. Many clubs have foreign owners, including Russian oil billionaire Roman Abramovich, who used his fortune to reinvigorate Chelsea, and the Glazer family of the U.S., which controls Manchester United. A fan of the league's West Ham, Mr. Fernandes attended QPR's first game of the season Saturday, at which it lost on its home field to Bolton Wanderers. In an interview with Sky Sports, he said he would offer his full support to manager Neil Warnock and his immediate goal would be to ensure that the club avoids relegation to a lower league this year before strengthening the team for the future. Analysts say Mr. Fernandes's move for QPR could buy more exposure back home and abroad as it unrolls more long-haul routes through its AirAsia X brand. In previous years, the airline has sponsored sports teams such as Manchester United and the Oakland Raiders U.S. football team to help boost its profile in the quickly expanding budget airline market. Mr. Fernandes, meanwhile, has plowed his own money into the Lotus F1 racing team, which he has used to aggressively promote AirAsia. This former music industry executive has turned AirAsia into one of Southeast Asia's best-known brands. Last week he gained effective control of Malaysia's state-owned Malaysian Airline System Bhd by acquiring a 20.5% through his privately held Tune Group. Mr. Fernandes gave the Malaysian government a 10% stake in AirAsia and a similar stake in Air Asia X. Still, buying an English soccer club isn't always a quick route to commercial success. Birmingham City's Mr. Yeung was arrested in June by Hong Kong police on charges of money laundering involving over $93 million. A Hong Kong court denied him permission to travel to see Birmingham's first game of the new season. Mr. Yeung, who hasn't yet entered a plea, couldn't be reached for comment. âPolly Hui in Hong Kong contributed to this article. Write to James Hookway at [email protected]
Hmm, Asian owners of English clubs - Yueng (Brum) awaiting trial in Hong Kong, Taksin thingy ex City - awaiting trial in Thailand, Venkeys Blackburn - make players appear in ads for chicken. Sure Ferdy and Mittal/ Bhatia won't fall into this category then remembered - Tango - evaded corruption trials in Italy 40 years ago by running away, banned from F1 for cheating, Cash - under investigation for corruption in Germany (along with stooge Tango) long dodgy history , Paladini - where do I start. The only way is up, Jim Gregory wasn't exactly a saint but it's a bit depressing thinking about the people who own our game nowadays
Anyone who watched the Panorama programme about buying English football clubs will know these guys all seem to be consummate bullshitters, they get away with in their own countries for so long and then...
This is pretty much regurgitated from the English press and Ferdy's Sky interview. No new sources. There are clearly some sticking points between the Goons and Ferdy, and the question is, whether these can be resolved imminently. If the Ferdy purchase doesn't go ahead, then that could be our season down the pan, although the Mittals just might use the situation to their advantage and buy out the Goons for a good price
It's quotes like this that make our owners look good compared to Ken Bates : The often outspoken Bates, isn`t worried about the demonstrations and he insists he is building for the future. Bates said, 'Some fans may not like me, or agree with me, but you're stuck with me. 'I saved your club in 2005 and 2007 when nobody else would. The rebuilding of Leeds United is a bit like sex. In an age of instant gratification, Leeds United is having a long, drawn-out affair with plenty of foreplay and slow arousal. 'We're in this for the long term. We may have had two disappointing results, but we will get there - we are building for the future.' He proceeded this by calling the Leeds fans who protested 'morons'!
