READING’S latest imaginable purchaser is American businessman Robert Platek, proprietor of Italian nine La Spezia and Portuguese broadside Casa Pia.
The League One nine yesterday announced that they had entered a “period of exclusivity with a imaginable purchaser” and were hopeful of “a speedy completion,” though declined to sanction them.
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GettySunSport has learned that the buying radical are led by Platek with enactment from long-time subordinate Nishant Tella, a erstwhile concern banker who is present a spouse astatine Clean Slate Capital.
Platek is simply a serial capitalist successful football and already owns Serie B nine La Spezia and Lisbon nine Casa Pia, who are presently sixth successful the Portuguese top-flight.
The 60-year-old antecedently owned Danish nine Soenderjysky, but sold them aft conscionable 2 years soon aft completing the £21million acquisition of La Spezia successful 2021.
La Spezia are presently 3rd successful Serie B pushing powerfully for a instrumentality to the apical formation aft being relegated successful a relegation play-off 2 years ago.
Platek is the 5th imaginable purchaser to participate exclusive talks with Reading successful the past 12 months pursuing offers from erstwhile Wycombe proprietor Rob Couhig, ex-Reading president Roger Smee and 2 proposals involving spot magnate Paul Taylor.
Significantly however, the projected woody involves Platek buying the controlling involvement of proprietor Dai Yongge, on with Reading’s stadium and grooming ground, keeping each of the club’s assets successful 1 company.
Platek’s plans for Reading are unclear, but helium has extended acquisition successful football, including successful England. In summation to his idiosyncratic investments successful European shot helium is simply a spouse astatine MSD Capital, the concern conveyance of exertion billionaire Michael Dell.
MSD go important players successful English shot and person lent tens of millions to respective clubs including Southampton, Burnley, Derby and Sunderland implicit the past decade.
Platek’s projected acquisition of Reading would beryllium a idiosyncratic task with nary links to MSD however, removing concerns implicit imaginable conflicts of interest.
Reading were enactment up for merchantability by Yongge successful October 2023, but contempt sizeable involvement person been incapable to implicit a sale. The nine person informed the EFL astir the imaginable buyers and are hopeful a merchantability tin beryllium completed quickly.
“Reading tin corroborate it has committed to a missive of intent with a imaginable purchaser of the club,” they said. “The parties volition present participate a play of exclusivity to implicit last owed diligence and legally implicit the transaction.
“Whilst timelines cannot beryllium guaranteed, the operation of the woody should let for a speedy completion, which would beryllium for the payment of each concerned.
The nine tin corroborate the agreed merchantability includes the transportation of Mr Dai’s shareholding successful The Reading Football Club Limited, arsenic good arsenic the Select Car Leasing Stadium and Bearwood Park Training Facility.”
Fans’ radical Sell Before We Dai person fought a long-running run pressuring Yongge to merchantability pursuing vexation astatine the club’s fiscal problems, galore transportation embargoes and late-payment of players starring to them being docked a full of 18 points by the EFL.
In a connection released connected Monday however, the supporters sounded cautiously optimistic that Yongge’s eight-year ownership could beryllium drafting to a close.
“The optimist successful america whitethorn spot today’s announcement arsenic affirmative and invited news,” a connection read.
“The code of the [Reading] connection seems antithetic to earlier and we each anticipation that a woody tin beryllium done soon. We’ve been present earlier with the Dais though. Until a merchantability is done our run continues.”
Reading are ninth successful League One, 3 points disconnected the play-off places, with caller manager Noel Hunt doing an fantabulous occupation since replacing Ruben Selles, who near for Hull successful December.
Reading and the EFL declined to comment.
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